


Little Miss Damsel

by LucyMorningstar257



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-03-16 07:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13631160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucyMorningstar257/pseuds/LucyMorningstar257
Summary: CU, SessKag. "The one I need rescuing from is you!" While facing off a common enemy, Sesshoumaru inadvertently owes Kagome his life. And like a good old-fashioned daiyoukai, he's not going swallow it just so! He is determined to pay back his dues, but is Kagome really the damsel in distress he makes out to be?





	1. Prologue: Onsen

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and its respective owners.

"When You Were Young" written by Mark August Stoermer, Brandon Flowers, RonnieVannucci Jr, Dave Brent Keuning

* * *

 _You sit there in your heartache_  
_Waiting on some beautiful boy to_  
_To save you from your old ways_  
_You play forgiveness_  
_Watch it now, here he comes_  
- **When You Were Young** , The Killers

**Prologue: Onsen**

"Do you know that I'm actually scared of being in deep water? It doesn't matter whether it's a hot spring like this one or the big blue sea. I'm just suddenly reminded of my childhood fear."

It was a quiet night. Kagome and Sango were shoulders-deep in the  _onsen_ , their faces flushed pink in the relaxing warmth of the pool.

Whatever stiff muscles they incurred from hiking to the mountain top had been thoroughly soothed and forgotten. Even Shippo had joined them, as the little  _kitsune_  floated alongside with the ladies with a buoy around his hips.

Earlier that day Kagome had sensed a subtle, fleeting cry of a  _shikon_  shard, so fine it might, or might not have been real. Deciding to trust her guts, she managed to sway Inuyasha and the others towards the peak of the mountain, only to reach barren lands devoid of any  _youkai_  activity. The only consolation was the surprising little hot spring cosying behind a large rocky formation, but Inuyasha had been pissed off as hell at her, and he as everyone knew, was always pissed.

Kagome glanced in surprise at Sango who had spoken earlier, just as Shippo kicked his little legs towards them.

"Scared of the water? For real?" Shippo went. "I wouldn't have guessed that at all, Sango-chan. You're the most kickass woman I know."

Kagome nodded vehemently. "Totally agree. Nothing about the way you hurl your Hiraikotsu screams aquaphobia!"

Sango laughed at her friends' reactions. "Well, I was pretty young back then. Kohaku and I were searching for mushrooms in the woods—when we were greeted by this beautiful, small lake in the middle of nowhere. It had a deep shade of cerulean that became darker the more I stared at it. I jumped into the water without thinking, swimming with so much excitement, when suddenly my right calf was seized by a muscle cramp. I was struck with so much pain that I could not move at all. "

Kagome and Shippo gasped. "What then?" he urged.

"I panicked, of course. I thought the lake was going to swallow me whole and I was going to die. When I came to, I was lying flat on the dry grass, and Kohaku's face was against the blue sky peering at me from the corner, all wide-eyed and afraid. My wee little brother had saved his big older sister. It was on that day when my fear of the deep waters became instantly printed into my being like a hot seal. That, plus the realization that for as long as I live, I will owe Kohaku my life."

Kagome and Shippo glanced at each other, their mouths shaped in an O.

"I really can't imagine how that must have felt," Kagome said. "Are you saying that it still scares you, even now?"

"Honestly I wouldn't even dare step into this  _onsen_  if you guys weren't beside me."

Shippo mulled over it. Then he said, "Isn't it funny how it was a cramp that defeated you and not some scary demon? Me too. I'm scared of thunder. No matter how I imagine otherwise, it just reminds me of my dad. How about you? Aren't you scared of anything, Kagome-chan?"

Kagome laughed, waving a dismissive hand. "Gee, of course I am. I'm only human."

"Nah. I'm  _youkai_  and I'm still scared of something."

Kagome managed a kind smile. "I'm scared of crows," she then said.

"Crows?" Sango repeated, perplexed.

"Yeah. I guessed I got pretty traumatized of them ever since one robbed the  _shikon_  jewel off me. The rest is history."

The three of them sighed heavily.  _Then again_ , Kagome thought,  _if that stupid crow hadn't stole the jewel, Inuyasha and I wouldn't be scuttling all around Old Nippon for shards, and I definitely wouldn't be hanging out in this spring with Sango and Shippo right now. Hmm. It's like a really long domino effect._  A chilly breeze blew over the hot spring, accompanying her thoughts, and it broke goose-bumps all over her.

"You know what else scares me beside those pesky birds? Getting my skin all wrinkly like a dried currant! Let's go guys!" Kagome straightened herself up, before cautiously treading her way out of the water.

Shippo looked after her then at Sango. "Gee yeah, we've been in here for way too long! Inuyasha and Miroku might be wondering what the hell happened to us."

Her pale feet touched the muddy banks of the spring. It was dark, and Kagome couldn't see well. Her towel kept unravelling and she struggled to keep it upright, whilst trying to manage her footing at the same time.

Then it happened. Her foot gave way to the uneven, slippery ground and Kagome lost her balance.

" _Kyaaaaa!_ " she cried out. Her hands flew in panic, one foot kicked up in the air, back tilted over. Then she saw a flash of white, and her body landed into something gentle, not unlike the hard ground she had anticipated. A shift of long silver hair flitted in her peripheral vision.

"Oh God, thank you, Inu—"

"You slipped," said a hard and cold voice near her ear. Kagome stiffened—it wasn't Inuyasha.

"And your pitiful human existence would very well have ended here…" the person continued, and goose-bumps broke all over her again, harder this time because it was a voice she recognized and it had a horrible quality to it, knowing exactly to  _whom_  it belonged to, and almost  _waaay_  impossible given the situation—" if this Sesshoumaru had not interfered to save your puny, insignificant life."

Her breath caught in her throat. Kagome steeled herself to look up his face.

 _Yuppo, it's him, alright. Say, this is the first time I've seen Sesshoumaru up this close—I didn't know he had quite a sharp nose on his face, talk about having_ too _perfect features—_

His sharp, gleaming eyes narrowed. "We're  _even_  now," he said.

Kagome screamed.

Sango and Shippo, who had been watching the whole spectacle from the hot spring in sheer horror, finally found their voices, and they too started screaming. Because why not? Inuyasha's dangerous  _youkai_  half-brother had appeared out of nowhere and was cradling Kagome like a baby.

Kagome thrashed in his arms like a new-born foal, his large fluffy pelt at his side almost suffocating her in the face. She managed to scramble off, backing away at least a few feet from him.

"Cease your screaming, you damnable lot."

"Wha—What are you doing here?"

Sesshoumaru looked away with a quiet huff, and Kagome's confusion ballooned.

"It was just a simple slip," Kagome said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I don't understand why you had to rush in to help."

He took a while to respond and when he did, his words were soft, but somewhat familiar.

" _A small gesture of gratitude would have sufficed, but even that must be hard coming from you_."

"What?"

"An eye for an eye," Sesshoumaru then simply growled.

"Eye for an eye?" Kagome repeated, bewildered. Then it hit her. "W—wait. Hold on. Tell me this has  _nothing_  to do with what happened that time with that Demon Child-Eater. I did thwart a deadly attack on you but—"

His canine teeth gritted against each other the moment the Demon Child-Eater incident was mentioned, its sharp tips glistening into view. His fine eyebrows furrowed into grooves on his darkening face. Kagome's jaw dropped.

 _I know Sesshoumaru's lofty pride as a proud human-hating daiyoukai is something not to be trifled with, but this is ridiculous._  "So…you were trying to return the favour with that weird attempt to…"

"This matter is not a subject for debate." He brushed back his long hair with his fingers, haughty as ever. "As I said, we are even now and so I shall no longer pursue this."

"No!" Kagome suddenly burst, before Sesshoumaru could turn to leave. She pointed an angry finger at him, shaking. "Erase those thoughts! You did  _not_  save me! I was  _not_  in danger! That act was extremely unwarranted and made no sense at all!"

He raised an eyebrow slightly. "So you deny the possibility that when you fell, you could have cracked your skull open on a rock and have your brains spilled like a fruit?"

"No! I would have landed on my butt and have a sore bum, but that's all! And my head is not a fruit!"

"Then that would have increased the likelihood of you fracturing your tailbone, or in the worst case scenario, your spinal cord and then you will be rendered with paralysis—"

"Stop that!" Kagome was hopping mad now. "Stop making me sound like a pathetic, helpless little weakling! I lost my balance and that was all!"

A slight frown dusted over his face. Sesshoumaru was confused.

"But I was under the assumption that you were supposed to play the role of the damsel in distress in Inuyasha's group. I distinctly remember it was your voice incessantly screaming for Inuyasha's help on almost every..."

"No, no, _NO!_ "

Shippo glanced at Sango beside him. "You know, I thought the same thing too," he quickly whispered.

Kagome's towel finally drooped loose from the mad jig she performed. By the time she realized it had fully dropped at her feet, it was already too late. She was standing buck naked in front of every one without a single thread on her. In front of her friends—who were still in the  _onsen_ , in petrified disbelief—and most mortifyingly right before Sesshoumaru, who simply rewarded her with a miniscule lift of his eyebrow…

_"Kagome! Sango!"_

Inuyasha and Miroku had rushed to the spring upon hearing the feminine screams in the still night that could only belong to a particular group. Everything was one big web of confusion for the  _hanyou_ , who only moments ago had been awakened rudely during a much-needed nap. He hadn't had a decent rest for almost three days, and when Kagome suggested to scale the small mountain, he had said no immediately. But as usual she never listened, even pushing the others to follow her. Yeah sure he was stronger than his peers but he was half-human too, in case anyone conveniently forgot, and not some super- _youkai_  Kagome secretly hoped he was…

Inuyasha shook his head clear of his thoughts when he saw Kagome, who was crouching naked on the ground— _mmmmm that butt!_ his inner voice hooted—for some reason, and then there was—what the holy f— _Sesshoumaru?_

Kagome grabbed her towel and started screaming for the umpteenth time, wishing the ground would just split and consume her.

_"Inuyasha don't look at meeeee! Osuwari osuwari osuwari!"_

Seeing that Inuyasha had been immobilized, Miroku took upon himself to approach the  _onsen_. He squatted near its edge, then cast a wary glance at the silent daiyoukai from afar. "Can someone explain what is going on here? Shippo, Sango?"

"You won't believe us even if we told you," Sango sighed.

"Alright, can the both of you at least leave the hot spring?"

"We can't!" Shippo cried. "We're  _naked!_ "

Sesshoumaru clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Ridiculous," he muttered, as he turned to leave.

"I'm not done with you yet, mister!"

He paused and turned to look over his shoulder at the strange  _miko_ , who was still crouching on the ground whilst scowling like a furious cat. "The score is still 1-0!"

His golden eyes flashed back, and Kagome reeled for a second there.  _Uhhh, he's not going to kill me, is he?_

"So there is a scoreboard now. I see. You think this is a game, no?"

"N-no, I don't really want to play with you—"

And then Sesshoumaru's lips broke into a small smile, one that froze her tongue half-way.

"We shall see, Little Miss Damsel. We shall see."

Kagome watched as he sauntered off into the night, his white figure disappearing into the distance, utterly speechless.

_Did he—did he just called me Little Miss Damsel?!_

"Ugh, my head," Inuyasha groaned somewhere, lifting his head from a crater that was shaped just like him, a perfect sat-Inuyasha silhouette. "For cripes' sake, someone just kill me…"

"Inuyasha!  _OSUWARI!_ "

 

_To be continued!_

* * *

 

**[A/N: Just another one of those dumb plots that visit my mind occasionally. Let's hope we find out in the next chapter who the damsel really is, eh? Anyway I'm trying my best to make everyone stay in character here, so forgive me if Kagome is a bit annoying because…well she is….in a way… *runs from her fans*]**


	2. I'm Going Flower-a-pickin'

**I'm Going Flower-a'-pickin'**

It all started when Shippo decided to go flower-picking.

A few days before Kagome had shown them a book, of which its pages were adorned with various pressed flowers, their colours still vibrant and crisp as the day they were picked.

"I did it for my art class," Kagome said. "What do you think?"

"It's hella neat!" Shippo exclaimed. He had been thoroughly impressed, and now he too wanted his own flower-pressed book.

And so, one fine day in the height of spring, Shippo had gone into the woods by himself, whistling a merry tune as he plucked little stems and tucked flowers into his belt.

And that was when the Demon Child-Eater saw him.

"Hello, my little kit," she rasped. Shippo saw her shadow looming over the bush of red camellia flowers. He flung around as if a bee had stung him.

The woman was very beautiful, so beautiful in fact that he knew instantly she couldn't be human. Her white porcelain skin and red-tinged lips beckoned to him.

"H-hello. I'm Shippo."

"And my name is Okuni. Are you picking flowers?" she asked, tilting her head as if studying an interesting specimen. Her voice was a bit strange, like the rumbling of gravel stones.

"Yeah, and I think you're the prettiest one I've seen yet," Shippo mumbled before he could stop himself.

She raised her head and laughed a loud gurgling cry, and then he saw her long fangs, glinting in the spring sun, and his blood quickly ran cold.

"Ah, you're a cheeky little one, aren't you?" she said. Her smile had transformed into a large grin, one that was a bit too big for her angelic face, and he could see all of her sharp teeth now, each deadly like a  _tantō_  blade. She bended closer to him. Her right arm pulled on a large burlap sack hoisted on her back, and it seemed to be squirming as though something alive was within it.

Shippo stilled, as a flower fell from his fingers.

"I always like the cheeky ones. They have a tart flavour to them. How would you like to make me even beautiful, my dear Shippo?"

The next thing Shippo knew, he was tumbling into a strange place filled into darkness, and the shrill cries of help he had never noticed before.

"Oof!" he cried, as he landed on a sea of other demon children, their faces a frosty white, brimming with tears.

"Shippo-chan! Shippo, is that you?"

The squirming mass of bodies underneath him shifted and a head popped out. Shippo squinted, then gasped. It was Rin, that human girl who travelled alongside Sesshoumaru.

"Rin! You're in here too? What in the world is going on?" he yelled, trying to raise his voice amidst the ringing cries of the other children.

"We're doomed, that's what we are!" Jaken popped out beside her. "We're all going to be eaten!"

The children cried even harder. "What do you mean?" they all chorused.

"We've been abducted by Okuni-baba!" Jaken replied.

"Okuni…baba?" Shippo went. "You—You mean she's actually an old hag in disguise? I knew it! There was something  _off_  about her!"

"She's not just old, she's ancient! Okuni-baba is an infamous cannibalistic ogre who uses children to make her Elixir of Youth. She skins them alive and boils them to the bones. Or is it the other way round?"

"And then she d-drinks it?" asked a furry wolf cub from the corner.

Jaken's eyes narrowed like stilts. "She doesn't just drink them—she sells the elixirs on the black market!"

" _Noooooo!"_

" _I want my mommy!"_

" _Someone save us!"_

"Everyone just hang on!" Rin called out to the others. "Sesshoumaru-sama will come and he will save us all! He always does!" A strange hope lit up her face. "Everyone, let's call out for Sesshoumaru-sama so he can hear and find us quickly!"

_"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!"_

Shippo wanted to tell her, and the other kids as they chanted her lord's name feverishly, that the sack had noise-proof abilities. But he was occupied with another thought. Would his own friends come to rescue him? Could he count on Inuyasha with the same unabashed hope Rin had for Sesshoumaru?

"Hey Inuyasha. It's almost dusk now."

Inuyasha's thumbs were punching buttons on the handheld Tetris game that Kagome brought for him. It was probably the next best thing after instant ramen, for he had never come across anything so intriguing before. Trust her strange world to come up with such things.

He muttered a curse as he slotted in a wrong piece at the finishing part, and the screen flashed mockingly with the words: 'GAME OVER'

"What is it?" he snapped at Kagome.

Kagome frowned at him. "Are you addicted to that game or what? All you do is play that thing all day and all night. You don't even sleep. And right now you aren't even listening to me."

"Well you're the one who gave it to me, right? So  _technically_  it's mine now and I can do whatever I want with it."

Kagome rolled her eyes, holding the urge to punch him. "Anyways, it's pretty late and Shippo still hasn't returned yet. He can't have lost his way, can he?" After all foxes, like dogs, were equipped with a superior sense of smell.

"Beats me. Must be so engrossed in his pansy flower collection that he forgot what time it is."

"Aren't you the least worried?"

"Mmmmm…nope," Inuyasha replied, and Kagome realized he was back on his Tetris game, restarting the previous level.

 _I swear he can't be depended on at times_.

"Inuyasha?"

"…Yeah?"

" _Osuwari_."

" _…gyaahh!"_

Kagome turned towards the others. Sango and Miroku were huddled on the grassy slope close beside each other, looking all suspiciously cosy. She creeped up behind them. Sango was painting her toes with Kagome's pink nail polish, as Miroku watched closely beside her, and then he too brushed his own toes with polish. Kagome's smile quirked. The priest had purple toes on him.

"Ah, Kagome-sama! Is anything wrong?" he suddenly turned. Sango smiled at her, giggling a bit coquettishly.

Kagome laughed as she took a step back. "Nothing's wrong! Just checking up on you guys. Say, Sango-chan, would you mind I borrow Kirara for awhile? Shippo's been out pretty late, and I'm kinda getting worried."

"Oh! Do you need me to come along too?"

"Nah, it's okay! I'll be fine on my own. And those toenails rock, girl!"

"How about mine, Kagome-sama?" the priest asked as he wriggled his purple toes about.

"They rock too, Miroku."

* * *

"Hey Kirara, are you sure Shippo went this way? That's a lot of ground we've covered."

Kirara growled in affirmation as Kagome sighed on her back. It had been half an hour since since they searched for Shippo in the woods, but all in vain. She gave a cry in surprise as Kirara leapt from the forest grounds, and began to soar through the darkening sky. Her breath hitched as she turned to marvel at her surrounding sights. To her left, the sky was tinged with a peachy orange, blood-red fingers clawing towards the setting sun. To her right however it had faded into a cool lilac-lavender, the moon quietly peeking from afar against a starry indigo-black canvas.

The miles flashed past below her feet.

 _Woah_ , she thought as she gripped on Kirara's scruff, her legs digging into her sides,  _this is even further than I thought. Something didn't happen to Shippo, right? God, please tell me everything is okay!_

_* * *_

Sesshoumaru's nose scrunched. The cloying smell of citrus weighed heavily in the air. It infiltrated straight from his nostrils into his lungs, its pungent acridity building up in his throat like bile. He covered his hand over his face.

Of all the smells, why citrus?

Earlier during the day when he had returned from a three-day absence ("I have adult demon matters you won't understand", in case anyone asked), he discovered Jaken and Rin had been abducted, and based from Ah-Un's grunts and neighs in his attempt to convey a story, it appeared that a strange woman with a big sack had taken them away. It took Sesshoumaru all of his resolve to  _not_  just leave them and let those two trouble-makers just suffer for once.

A chimney blowing clear smoke emerged into view, and it seemed to be the agonizing source of the smell. Sesshoumaru steeled himself to approach the brick-house looming before him, a sturdy establishment sitting smack in the middle of the woods.

There was a sign written on the door: 'PLEASE WAIT TO BE SERVED' Sesshoumaru invited himself in anyway, then wished he had not.

A burst of citrus blasted into him the moment he entered. Sesshoumaru's chest lurched violently in reflex as he retched his throat out.  _What in tarnation_ , he thought, as saline tears pricked the corner of his eyes.

"Who are you?" a female's voice floated in his ear. It was a peculiar voice, like the rumbling of gravel stones.

Sesshoumaru straightened himself up and brushed his hair back, trying to regain his dignified air after that horrible coughing fit just now.

He saw the woman hunched over a large pot, boiling over a hearth where glowing coals collected. She was stirring its contents with a long stick. His eyes flicked to the back of her house however. There were cages and cages stacked all over against the brick walls, and in these cages were trapped  _youkai_  children, its young captives all crying, all pleading for help.

"Excuse me, I'm talking to you. Didn't you see the sign outside?" the woman said again. She was decidedly beautiful, her features fine like a hand-crafted doll—a bit pity her voice was but ghastly. And then she continued stirring the pot as if a casual conversation was taking place. "The harvest has just started; you  _have_  to be put on a waiting list."

"Harvest?" Sesshoumaru's voice strained behind his hand, still cupped over his stinging face. Damn this smell and damn himself for having a superior nose. Then his eyes roved all over the cages again and it dawned on him.

"You're harvesting these children," he stated coldly.

"Of course! They're the main ingredient for my Age-Defying Elixir—specially concocted by me, Okuni, to stall beauty in its highest prime. I only use  _youkai_  ones, of course. I have absolutely no use for those short-lived human mortals."

Sesshoumaru's hand flew to his Bakusaiga's hilt in reflex.

"Hey, hey!" the woman named Okuni called out. "Stop waving that sword about. Sweet Bentei, didn't your folks teach you about manners in somebody's house?"

"That girl you abducted along with the  _kappa_. She is human."

"Ha! Don't joke with me. Do you think I've gone senile and can't differentiate between a wee human child and a  _youkai_? She has  _youkai_  stench all over her!" And then Okuni's eyes widened as she gave him a wary once-over, particularly at the large sword in his hand, pulsating with an ominous green aura. "Wait—you aren't a customer. Are you in alliance with the APCO?"

"APCO?"

"The Anti-Poaching Child Organization!"

He shrugged. "I am not affiliated with such a cause," he replied, and Okuni clutched her chest in relief, "However if you do not surrender those two right now, I may just have to serve you with  _my_  kind of justice."

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" A familiar child's voice rang in the air. Sesshoumaru whirled, his eyes searching for the right cage. It was hard to ascertain Rin's scent, not when his olfactory senses were in distress. He finally caught on to her, struggling inside a cramped space with Jaken and another  _kitsune_  who looked vaguely familiar.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken cried behind the bars, bawling his tears out. "I knew you would come to save us!"

"Get us out of this cage! I don't wanna die just yet!" Shippo yelled. All the other children howled unanimously.

Sesshoumaru leapt forward, but Okuni quickly blocked his way in a flash, her face marred with a large hissing grin.

"Out of the way, you grizzly mutt. No one barges in through my door and meddles with my operation!"

"Tsk," Sesshoumaru went. Using Bakusaiga in such a close proximity with the children was unadvisable in this situation, and he quickly retracted his sword back to its scabbard. His hand shot out to produce a green lash of  _youki_ —but Okuni dodged just in time, as it grazed past her gleaming obsidian hair. A few strands floated off. She recoiled in shock, before her face contorted in a fit of rage.

"Not my hair!" Okuni screeched. She pulled out a large, heavy metal fan that magically appeared from her bosom, then lunged it against his direction.

"You'll pay for that with the wrath of my  _tesson!_  Tender Breeze!"

Sesshoumaru froze, as the flow of air revolted against him, storming into a tumultuous, impenetrable wall. It was so lightning-quick that he only managed to evade by swinging his arm across his face, but it had exploded on his body, crashing him out of the house.

When he recovered he discovered to his shock, that his armour had cracked, and his chest plate had split open. Sesshoumaru stared at Okuni who had stepped out, seething before him, weapon gripping in her hand. This woman had abducted Rin and Jaken, and now she had managed to destroy his armour with just a single blow of her  _tesson_. Okuni, she said her name was. The more he placed the clues, the more it became clearer—she really was  _the_ Okuni-baba the court ladies liked to mention in his circles. But that only meant she had to be a few thousand years old…

He surveyed his surroundings. They were outside now. Good.

"Step back, little pup," Okuni warned. "I may look young and oh-so-gorgeous, but I have lived centuries wiser than you. Don't make me use my  _tesson_  for a second time—that was just a little warning."

He brushed the dirt of his pelt. "Tender Breeze, huh. That was as tender as it gets."

"Sesshoumaru!" another voice called out from afar.

Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder, squinted, then cursed inwardly. It was Inuyasha's lass, of all people. Mounted on her  _neko_  ride, she bounced closer to him from the distance. And she was alone, which was strange.

"Ah, I knew it was you!" Kagome said, a disturbing smile lighting up her face.

Sesshoumaru's jaw tensed as his eyes darted from Okuni then to Kagome, grasping the situation slowly.

 _I knew it,_  he chided himself. _I should have just stayed earlier._   _Things are getting better by the minute, aren't they? And the human lass just has to see me in this improper, dishevelled state._

Sesshoumaru took a deep, acrid, citrus-y breath, and exhaled aloud. Running his hair slowly through his fingers, he cocked an eyebrow at her and asked.

"Are you here for the  _kitsune_?"

**_Wait for the next chapter!_ **


	3. I'm Going Flower-A-Pickin', Part II

**I'm Going Flower-A-Pickin', Part II**

" _Kitsune_?" Kagome's eyes shone. "Ah you mean Shippo! Yes, Kirara bought me here, following his scent. Does this mean you know where he is?"

Sesshoumaru smirked over her ignorance, then gestured his head towards Okuni. "Why don't you ask her?"

Kagome turned. The woman was a young, astounding beauty with gleaming obsidian hair and delicately formed elfin ears, but a dangerous metal fan was brandished in her intimidating grip.

Kagome figured the woman had something to do with Shippo's disappearance. "You! What did you do to Shippo, you…you…pretty…evil…"

Okuni craned her neck in puzzlement. And where did this human girl come from?

"Enough," Sesshoumaru growled to the stuttering Kagome. "You're only being a hindrance."

Kagome gripped her fists tightly. "You said she has Shippo. It's _my_ business, too!"

"Shippo?" Okuni lit up over the mention of his name, a smile suddenly poised on her red lips. "Ah, that cheeky little kit you mean? Yes yes, I do have him locked up in my cage. I intend to brush his fur nicely, before I chop his little tail off, and _then_ I'll toss him in the boiling pot. That way, it's easier to skin him."

"L-locked up? C-chop? B-boiling pot?" Kagome blabbered.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "Skin?"

"Yes, all to produce my glorious, wonderful Age-Defying Elixir of Youth!" And then Okuni raised her head and started crackling with laughter, her gritty voice echoing through the trees in the night.

"You horrible Demon Child-Eater!" Kagome impulsively pulled out an arrow from the quiver on her back, stringing it tight against her bow. "Take this!"

Her arrow shot forward, slicing through the air towards the still laughing Okuni…and then it missed by a foot.

She heard Sesshoumaru expel a frustrated sigh.

"I almost hit her, okay!" she defended herself.

"I told you to stay put. Now leave before you make a further fool out of yourself."

"I'm just trying to help."

"Then do me a favour and _don't_."

"Hah! I may be fifty paces backward, but you look like a hundred, at least. Seems like she messed your armour pretty bad, Sesshoumaru. Are you sure _you're_ up to it?"

Okuni watched as the arrow stuck itself to a tree, flaming, charged with a considerable amount of potent _reiki_. She began to study Kagome with a different perception now. Was the human girl some kind of _miko_? She didn't look the part, however—what with those distasteful, ugly clothes.

Hmm. A _daiyoukai_ and a strange human. The two of them seemed well-acquainted, as they squabbled over who should finish her off. How endearing. There was something that had been niggling at the back of her mind the first moment she saw Sesshoumaru, and now she finally remembered.

"Wait," she called. "Those marks on you, _youkai_ , they're bearings of the western dogs, aren't they? You… You don't happen to be InuTaisho's son, would you?"

She saw his face quirk over her words, and she clapped her hands and laughed.

"My, my. I guessed as much. Yes, I do remember him one bit. He's the one who sealed Ryukotsusei, isn't he?" Okuni tapped on her chin. "But… What is it with you _inuyoukai_ keeping human mistresses? I heard that it serves like some sort of good luck charm, but is that true?"

Kagome immediately sensed the way Sesshoumary's _youki_ had spiked beside her, generating more heat than usual. His usual stoic expression had quietly turned livid, his eyes hard-set, his canine fangs bared in a low, menancing growl.

_Uh-oh,_ Kagome thought. _He doesn't like this subject one bit._

"Such an odd family trend. Now that I think of it, your grandfather had one too, and your great grandfather, and your great great…"

"Silence!" he snarled, and his hand returned to his Bakusaiga, heaving it out. Kirara lurched back as Sesshoumaru slashed the air with a powerful swing towards Okuni. A wave of deadly _youki_ crackled from his sword, coursing towards her. The Demon Child-Eater merely smirked however, as she flapped open her _tesson_ , and returned his attack with her own, with one heavy swipe of her weapon.

_"_ You never learn, do you, pup? _Gust of Karma!"_ Okuni shouted. Like her previous move, the wind howled to form a large unsurmountable barrage of air that threatened to crash on Sesshoumaru. But this time it was different. It did not only reverse his flow of malevolent energy, her attack came with a deafening high-pitched whistle.

Sesshoumaru, along with Kirara, froze. Their minds came into a complete stand-still as the mind-numbing sound assaulted their ears and reached deep into their heads, and seemingly switched off a button somewhere. Kagome witnessed with growing horror as Sesshoumaru's attack came bouncing back to him, almost like an effect of Inuyasha's _Bakuryuha—_ but he was doing nothing to thwart, or even dodge. She quickly realized Kirara was strangely rooted to her spot as well.

_That strange whistle—it's messing up with their heads! She's gonna kill Sesshoumaru if he doesn't move—_

Instinctively, her legs scrambled themselves off Kirara. She didn't have time to think, she just _moved_.

"Sesshoumaru!" she shouted. Kagome threw herself before him and deftly pointed a holy arrow towards the mad heated swirl of _youki_ threatening to melt the skin off her face. She screamed and shut her eyes as her fingers released the tight bow-string.

The wind roared and howled in her ears in what seemed like an eternity. For a moment Kagome's mind was a static, blurry mess. She didn't feel a thing when her body was flung aback from the recoil of the opposing forces, knocking into Sesshoumaru's, as they both rolled together like logs on the ground.

When her consciousness finally reached her, Kagome's eyes creaked open. She could feel the grass prickling her neck, and the strange smell of citrus in the cool night-air.

Kagome raised herself, and propped against her elbow. She saw Sesshoumaru in the distance, a tall white figure against the dark, but this time he was surrounding by little children, all scampering and hopping around his knees. She didn't know where they came from, but he must have done something, for them to be so awe-struck at his being.

It was undoubtedly a strange sight to wake up to. Sesshoumaru, surrounded by kids?

"Thank you so much!" a furry wolf cub cried, hugging Sesshoumaru's leg. "Now we can return to our mothers!"

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Thank you for saving our lives!" Jaken's familiar voice rose out among the chatter, grovelling at his lord's feet. "Once again I pledge my loyalty to you!"

Beside him, Rin beamed. "I told you! Sesshoumaru-sama will always come to save the day!" she said triumphantly to the other kids.

"Kagome-chan!" Kagome's breath hitched as Shippo ran towards her, his emerald-green eyes awashed with tears. She sighed in relief as the little kit jumped into her chest, sobbing in her embrace. "You came for me…"

"There, there. Tell me about it later, alright," she cooed, stroking his soft head.

Sesshoumaru sighed, then dragged his feet off from the litter of young _youkai_ he had freed from their cages. He walked ahead. Behind him, Jaken and Rin tailed with a bounce in their steps.

A stone threw itself, narrowing missing his shoulder from the back. Sesshoumaru immediately reeled and glared at Kagome, who stood with her arms perched against her hips.

"What?" he said.

"What?" she repeated. "What _what?_ So you're just gonna hog the limelight like it was just you who stole the show? Like seriously, dude?"

"You speak in strange terms, lass. Clarify yourself."

Kagome flourished in her anger for a while, hopping all over the grass as a perplexed Shippo looked on, then took a deep breath to calm herself down. Alright fine, so technically he did save Shippo, but it doesn't change the fact that _she_ —

"A small gesture of gratitude would have sufficed, but even that must be hard coming from you," she muttered bitterly.

Sesshoumaru snorted, then continued his pace. "Let's go, Jaken," he said at length.

Kirara appeared and nuzzled Kagome's palm, as if sensing her distress. Kagome smiled at her. "Come on, Shippo-chan," she then said, as they both mounted on the cat demon _._ "We're a long way from our friends."

"Did something happen between you and Sesshoumaru?" Shippo asked innocently, once they were back soaring into the skies.

Kagome sighed aloud. "Oh Shippo-chan, you won't believe me even if I told you." Then her lips cracked in a devilish grin.

"But I literally saved Sesshoumaru's ass."

_Wait for the next chapter!_

> **[A/N: It's really hard for me to update now, as I have school whilst needing to perform work overtime (my schedule is crayy) so yeahhhh please be patient! I love you all, and reviews always make my day. =)]**


	4. Girls Should Not Sing in the Kitchen

**A/N: Hey! Guess who should be studying for the coming exams but instead is updating her fanfiction…  *smiles in procrastination***

**Girls Should Not Sing in the Kitchen**

_“_ You have my heaaart, and we'll never be worlds apaaart…”

“Kagome-chan,” Sango said, slicing through the radishes while Kagome peeled the potatoes beside her, “You know what they say about young ladies singing in the kitchen. You don’t want to end up marrying an old man!”

Kagome giggled as she tossed a bare, skinless potato into a wooden bowl. “Oh Sango-chan, that’s just an old wives’ tale. Besides, technically we are not in a kitchen. We are in a campsite.”

“ _Technically we are not in a kitchen_ ,” Inuyasha mocked up above from the tree branch he was lounging on, and Kagome hurled a potato at him.

“Ah, ah,” the priest went, wagging a finger as he watched the pot with Shippo. “As much as it is a mere old wives’ tale, there is a moral to be learned from it. What do you think it is, Kagome-sama?”

“What’s wrong with marrying an old man?” Shippo piped, as he helped to stoke the bonfire raging underneath the pot. A brown stew simmered inside, filled with pigeon meat, spoils from the men’s morning hunt. “My mom was really young when she met my dad. And he already grew nine long tails then.”

“Wow, so he was a full-fledged  _kitsune._ Those are really rare now,” Sango said.

“Yup, a mighty full-fledged one he was!” Shippo replied, glowing with pride.

Mighty…full-fledged… The words echoed in Kagome’s mind. It had been some time after the incident where Shippo was kidnapped, and around a fortnight after that embarrassing  _onsen_ episode. Kagome could still recall what the Demon-Child Eater had mentioned to Sesshoumaru. About that strange habit of keeping human mistresses in his family as good luck. She wondered if Inuyasha knew. She didn’t think he would be thrilled to talk about it though.

“Baby 'cos in the daaaark, you can’t see shiny caaaars—Ahhh!” Kagome gasped as she instantly dropped her knife and it clattered on the ground. A drop of blood trickled from her trembling finger.

Miroku smiled at her knowingly. “And that’s why, young ladies shouldn’t sing in in the kitchen.”

“It’s—it’s just a small cut!” she said, trying to reassure everyone. “Hey Sango-chan, could you get my plaster from my bag—“

Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind, and the potatoes and radishes started rolling off the ground.

“Stay still,” said a voice. “I shall staunch your wound.”

Sesshoumaru the proud, honourable Lord of the Western Lands,  _the mighty, full-fledged daiyoukai_ had appeared in a blink, kneeling close beside Kagome. It was as though the wind had brought him there. She looked up to his face, assessing it against the wide azure skies. Aloof and unsympathetic as usual. And darn, he had longer eyelashes than her. She blinked in a daze over his words.

“Hold yourself together,” he said, his eyes bright and intense as they locked onto hers, “and whatever you do,  _do not go to the light_ …”

 Kagome snapped back to reality. “You again!”

“Yes, and you shall thank this Sesshoumaru now for being the savior of your tragic existence.”

“I’m not as pathetic as you think! It’s just a nick!”

“A nick?” Sesshoumaru repeated, his eyebrows delicately knitted.

“I’m not going to die!”

“No?”

A branch cracked up above before a thump resounded heavily on the ground.

“Okay, what in seven hells is going on here?”Inuyasha bellowed, his figure posed in a dominant stance, legs apart.

“Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru said with a small derisive smile. “You are here. Excellent. This is an opportune moment, indeed.”

The wind seemed to have shifted, bringing a tense atmosphere. Miroku and the others slowly shuffled backwards from the scene.

Inuyasha’s eye twitched. “I don’t know what you’re yakking at about—but get this straight, you floppy-eared mutt ‘cause I’mma only say this once,” and he cracked his knuckles, “Get your filthy, grubby fingers off Kagome!”

Sesshoumaru had his grip tight around Kagome’s wrist. She yelped the moment she realized it. She tried to wave her hand off, but he merely casted her an impassive glare.

“Why should I?” Sesshoumaru asked, and Inuyasha sputtered because it was a stupid question, but somehow a  _valid_  one coming from him.

Kagome rolled her eyes.  _Inuyasha’s gonna do that turf talk again_ , she told herself.

“Don’t ask me why! I’m the alpha of this pack, and as long as I’m here, no man, dog or wolf comes into my camp and talk to her!”

Sesshoumaru released her. Kagome gasped in relief and ran to her backpack to fetch her plaster, but not before throwing an incredulous look at the  _daiyoukai_.

He stood up to face his half-brother, and the air was wrought with tension from both sides.

“Oh, so this is your camp. Strange that I do not see that it’s been marked by you.”

Inuyasha growled. “Don’t make me.”

“I  _dare_  you, Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru said, his voice rising, his eyes alight with a strange kind of excitement. His smile returned. “As long as it does not reek of your stench, everything you claim to be yours…is liable to be mine.”

Inuyasha bit back a curse. “You bugger.”

And with that, he proceeded to remove his pants.

“Omigod, is he going to do what I think he is?” Shippo recoiled in horror at the back.

“No way! I can’t watch this!” Sango cried, shielding her eyes.

“Get a hold of yourself, Inuyasha!” the priest said. “There are better ways to solve this!”

Kagome looked on in confusion as Inuyasha started to run around their camp, his pants hanging around his knees as the others shouted at him to come to his senses.

It took her a while to realize what he was doing.

“Kagome-chan! Get away!” Sango called after her. “Or Inuyasha’s going to mark and piss on you too!”

“Kagomeeeeee!” came Inuyasha’s wail, approaching her.

“Inuyasha  _OSUWARIOSUWARIOSUWARI!!!_ ”

Sesshoumaru smirked to himself. The  _hanyou_  was buried at least three feet in the ground, pants down, butt exposed. His amusement died however the  _miko_  marched straight up to him.

“Sesshoumaru, you’re horrible!” Kagome exclaimed angrily, her fists flailing around. “I can’t believe you made Inuyasha piss himself like an actual dog! That was the single most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life!”

He merely looked at her quietly in reply, until she calmed down albeit extremely confused.

“The smell of your blood. It has disappeared.”

“Oh,” she said, looking at her plaster-wrapped finger.

Sesshoumaru sighed and turned away, sweeping his hair off his pelt. “You do not look like you need rescuing now. This has been a very disappointing day.”

“What the hell did you expect?!”

Kagome dashed forward to block his path. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow in question and she frowned back at him, almost ready for another outburst.

“Get this in your head, Sesshoumaru. We will  _never_  be even, because I almost  _died_  for you at that time.”

He shrugged. “I never asked you to.”

“Precisely. I did it on my own accord. That is the difference between us. And that is something we both know you will never do.”

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her. He had heard enough. He continued to walk forward, purposely brushing against her shoulder hard.

“You talk too much. Until next time then,” and he casually sent her an almost teasing gaze over his shoulder, “…little miss damsel.”

“There is no next time!”

* * *

 _“_ Now that it’s raining more than ever, know that we’ll still have each other…” Kagome sang on top of her lungs as her group trekked along the mountains.

Inuyasha clicked his tongue in annoyance beside her. “You can stay under my umbrella, ella, ella...”

Kagome shot him a look of disbelief.

“What?” he went. “You think I don’t have that song stuck in my head ‘cause you keep singing it every day? That’s how awful you sound when you sing.”

He expected her to hit him on the head, but instead Kagome broke into peals of laughter.

“Oh Inuyasha,” she said, tugging on his perky dog ears. “You’re so funny sometimes.”

“Hey, stop that!”

On the brow of a steep cliff, up above, Sesshoumaru stood at its edge, watching the pair with observant eyes.

“Hn. And the next time it shall not be his name you’ll be calling for help.”

**_To be continued!_ **

_[Credits: “Umbrella” as performed by Rihanna, written by Tricky Stewart, JAY-Z & The-Dream]_


	5. Corvidophobia

[A/N: This chapter will be a  _lil_  more serious and meaty, only because I felt the previous chapter was extremely light. Aha, well this is a comedy after all.]

**Corvidophobia**

The _shoji_ door slammed open with a jarring thud. Outside Inuyasha laid curled on the wooden floor of the verandah, hard at it with another game of Tetris.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome called out, arms akimbo. “There you are! And I thought you had sneaked into the pleasure quarters with the priest.”

Inuyasha wriggled his body, his back to her, fingers diligently jabbing at the device buttons. “Ah, you’re bothersome. How did ya know I was here anyway?”

Kagome sat beside him, smirking. “I just followed the smell of your stinky feet.” Of which Inuyasha heaped said feet on her lap, and she pushed him away with a vehement, “Idiot!” Then he fell silent, and she knew he wasn’t really interested to talk with her then.

The season had gradually changed into autumn over the weeks. Kagome and her friends had been rewarded with a two-nights’ stay at an village inn, after helping the villagers exterminate some pesky demon critters that were damaging their crops. A piece of cake for Inuyasha and the others.

Kagome wasn’t complaining though. It had been ages since she last slept with a pillow underneath her head.

“What level are you at now?” she was asking him.

“Forty-seven.”

“No freaking way! I couldn’t even get past level 8! Wow, you’re a real pro, Inuyasha!”

Inuyasha snickered, before shifting himself to lie on her lap.

Kagome’s heart skipped a beat at his sudden warmth on her legs. She was severely tempted to stroke his soft hair and tug on those irresistible ears, but knew better.

A large crow landed on a stone lantern at the garden before them, its black beak hooked dangerously. Its wings bristled, then it squawked loudly twice, as if to signal its arrival, or maybe a call. Kagome winced in distaste.

“Hey Inuyasha,” she spoke after a while. “What do you know about your father’s family?”

The  _hanyou_ ’s right ear twitched. “Enough that I refuse to have anything to do with them,” he muttered. And then he added as if like an afterthought, “There was this annoying guy who liked to visit me and my mother, though. I was really little so I didn’t know who he was. But he was related to my father, I think.”

“You mean like an uncle?”

“Maybe.”

 _He doesn’t really want to talk about it,_ Kagome thought. _Oh well._

Suddenly there was a loud commotion in the grey skies above, a cacophony of unnatural caws and cries. Kagome gasped as a huge black cloud travelled past the sky, and the hairs at the back of her neck rose when she realized they were a single flock of crows, a frightening mass of them all flying towards a single direction. Their black wings flapped with a continuous slapping sound, and their high-pitched shrieks seemed to bide a grim warning to her, more than anything else.

She shook his shoulder, panic rising. “Inuyasha, what’s going on? The crows. The sky is filled with them!”

“They’re seasonal ravens,” Inuyasha stated calmly, pausing to watch for a while. “They migrate in flocks to the northern islands in autumn.” Then he turned to face her, a roguish grin on his face. “Eh? Are you scared?”

Kagome exhaled a long held breath. Her eyes darted back to the dark ominous cloud. She said nothing.

Suddenly a loud thumping dashed from behind towards the verandah. Inuyasha picked his head up from Kagome’s lap, throwing a perplexed look at an exasperated Miroku collapsing at the door.

“Inuyasha! Help me! This is a matter of life and death!” the priest wheezed.

“Wash the pots and pans at the back kitchen because you couldn’t afford to pay the geishas?” Inuyasha yelled when Miroku had related his problem. “You stupid priest! I’mma rat on you on Sango!”

Miroku shook the hanyou’s shoulders violently, before the latter could leave. “Inuyasha, please!” And then his voice lowered into a hushed whisper, his eyes a steely blue. “ _If you don’t, I will tell Kagome-sama what you did last summer_!”

The both of them departed from the verandah, arms around each other’s shoulders, the  _hanyou_  scowling. Kagome clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Sango and Shippo were out on a stroll at the village square, and had left very early in the morning while she was still sleeping. Which meant she had some quality time to herself now, and the first thing she did was to retrieve her bicycle she had chained near the horse posts outside the inn.

She really wanted to see the maple trees outside. Autumn was her favourite season after all; she loved the bracing air coursing in her lungs, and the cool, mellow atmosphere the orange-brown landscape lent.

As she raced towards the edge of the village, aided by stares from curious onlookers, the black cloud seemed to swarm and revolve up above her. Her arms stiffened as she pushed against the pedal harder, trying to ignore their mocking cries.

The skies started to drizzle, and the air turned chilly. At last she entered a forest pathway, lined with maple trees on either side, the ground a blanket of fallen leaves. A straight never-ending corridor, picturesque, beckoned ahead.

And that was when the ravens started to dive for her.

They came in twos and threes, and then fours and fives, rocketing down from the sky, screeching, squawking. Kagome screamed as she ducked her head, their large black wings fluttering in her face. Their sharp claws scratched her hands and her clothes, their deadly beaks picking at her head.

Her bicycle fell off and Kagome plummeted to the ground, overwhelmed, her arms flailing aimlessly as she tried to protect herself from their strikes. She swore her skin was peeling off—they hurt so much. She was gasping for air now, terror-stricken, mind numb. It felt like the worst nightmare. The very thing she was scared off: crows. And they were coming in droves to attack her.

 _I’m going to die!_  her thoughts raced single-mindedly as she screamed,  _I’m going to die. The crows are going to kill me!_

“Say it,” appeared a voice. It was deep and calm, reaching into her ears among the horrifying shrieks of the ravens. Sedated and emotionless.  _Familiar_.

She saw his black shoes against the bright leaves, his billowing white  _hakama_. Her heart jolted with both despair and relief at the same time.

“Say it. Say this Sesshoumaru’s name.”

Kagome cried out as a pair of black beady eyes darted towards her face, and a cruel beak pecked her cheek.

“Beg for me to save you. Plead with your life,” he said. “I want to see you on your knees, grovelling for help.”

“NOOOO!” Kagome yelled in anguish. A lash of air sliced above her head, and the ravens screamed unanimously. A few of them began to hit the ground, bloody and motionless.

Kagome stiffened and looked up. She was crying now.

“Kagome!” Inuyasha shouted.

“Inuyasha,” she called back, and suddenly she didn’t care about the birds anymore. She ran straight into his arms.

He set her aside. “Hold on!” Inuyasha lunged forward to hack the remaining flock of ravens hovering in the near air. A litter of dead birds hit the ground shortly after, some of their bodies twitching in the throes of death. Inuyasha flung angrily at her.

“What the hell are you doing out here, so far from the village?”

Kagome shook her head, still sobbing. She couldn’t speak. And then the  _hanyou_  turned to the white figure poised among the trees. He growled at his half-brother.

“Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru said, the corner of his lips slightly lifted. He realized he had been smiling a lot recently; after all there were many things to be pleased about—Bakusaiga, the return of his left arm. “You just interrupted what could have been a momentous occasion between me and the  _miko_.”

Inuyasha spat. “You seem to be around the corner a lot nowadays, Sesshoumaru. In fact you seem to be there whenever Kagome’s in trouble.” He wiped his mouth. “You asshole. You didn’t make the birds attack her, didn’t you?”

Sesshoumaru allowed a hint of surprise to form on his face. He seemed amused by Inuyasha’s suggestion. “What? That?” he said, pointing up towards the sky. “I would not go through the hassle to orchestrate just that for the lass.”

His cold eyes trained to the quivering girl beside Inuyasha. “Ravens are known to maintain grudges on anyone who has ever faulted them. Did your dear  _miko_  ever do something to incur their wrath?”

Inuyasha growled again, more threateningly this time. Sesshoumaru’s tone was suspicious, and so was the way he leered at Kagome. He knew something was going on, but what exactly? There was no reason for Sesshoumaru to be interested in her anymore, not when he was no longer pursuing Tessaiga. Maybe… Maybe the slimy dog had another agenda up his sleeve?

As though reading his conflicted thoughts, Sesshoumaru immediately stepped forward and circled around the pair in a calculated manner.

“Enough of this game. I am not in the mood to play anymore,” Sesshoumaru said. “Inuyasha, what is said here, will end here. From now onwards, the safety of the  _miko_  shall belong to me. This Sesshoumaru will hereby be responsible for her life.”

“ _What_?”

“I will only say this once,” Sesshoumaru replied lazily, looking at his finger-claws. “There is no need for you to protect her anymore, not when I am here.”

Inuyasha sneered. “Hey Sesshoumaru, maybe you need to go check your brains out. There’s no way you’ll want to protect Kagome…” he hurled Tesseiga out, the fang roaring as it transformed, “not unless you’ve gone nuts!”

Inuyasha aimed towards Sesshoumaru’s neck. The  _daiyoukai_  dodged deftly, as he chuckled to himself. Of course he had not expected this to be easy. He pulled out his own sword, striking it against his father’s blade with a loud clang.

“Nobody gets to take what’s mine!” Inuyasha snarled. He dived a punch into Sesshoumaru’s face.

 _Eh?_  Kagome thought.  _Did he say_   _“what’s…mine?” What does that mean? That Inuyasha thinks I’m his? Oh—how embarra…_

“Inuyasha!  _OSUWARIIIIIIIII!_ ” Kagome screamed, red in the face. “ _Osuwariosuwariosuwariosuwari _—__ ”

It was the mother of all sits. The  _hanyou_  plunged headfirst into the ground, and by the third time, he was already rendered unconscious. Sesshoumaru heaved Bakusaiga for one fatal blow, but Kagome quickly ran to intercept him, blocking him away from Inuyasha. A gasp of surprise escaped from him as he shuffled a step backwards.

“Hit me if you dare!” Kagome shouted.

“Lass,” he started.

“I have a name! Ka-go-me!”

“As long as you hold insignificant to me, your existence will not have a name.”

“I don’t care! I will never let you be responsible for my own safety! The one I need rescuing from is you!”

“You foolish, worthless imbecile. You will regret the words you imparted to this Sesshoumaru.”

“Yes I am foolish, and I am worthless! So why do even bother with me?” Kagome said. “Or maybe you just couldn’t accept that it was this imbecile of a human lass who saved you one time!”

Sesshoumaru’s face contorted in anger. His fangs clenched as he swung his hand to hit her.

“I dare you!” she cried, her eyes flashing with determination.

Sesshoumaru stilled. Why? Why was the  _miko_  so fearless? Was she so ready to face death, even when it was right before her? She knew who he was—she had witnesssed enough of his invincible power to know what exactly he was capable of. And yet she had dared to challenge him…

Because she knew, that he could not hurt her. She knew his real weakness—his pride.

Sesshoumaru’s hand lowered. He gripped his fist, then his fingers sought slowly towards her head. Kagome stiffened as his hand loomed towards her face and she braced herself for the worst.

And then it almost felt surreal—as Sesshoumaru gently touched her. With all the restraining power that he had, his jaw taut, his chest in mid-breath, he patted her head.

Behind her, Inuyasha stirred from a bed-cover of dried leaves.

He poked his head out, rubbing his eyes groggily as his vision slowly focussed on the image of Sesshoumaru striding off into the pathway of maple trees.

He saw as Kagome ran after the  _daiyoukai_ , but stopped short half-way.

“Hey!” she was yelling as she rubbed her head. “What? What in the world was that?!’

“An act of mercy. May the gods treat you as kind as this Sesshoumaru did,” Sesshoumaru said, looking over his shoulder. “Ka-go-me. My Little Miss Damsel.”

“I’m not your—ugh!” Kagome hopped in anger, throwing a measly rock towards his direction.

“Kagome!” Inuyasha shouted at last. “We need to talk! You and I!”

“I don’t wanna!” And then she huffed and stomped towards her bicycle, picking it up from the ground. She glared at him. “You still wanna roll around in that pile of leaves?”

Inuyasha cowered from her stare.

* * *

 

The  _shoji_  door to the verandah slid open smoothly. Inuyasha was sitting over at the edge, his back hunched, staring into the garden.

“Ah,  _here_  you are,” Sango said. “I have no idea where Kagome or the priest is. Funny that you’re still in place.” The  _hanyou_  said nothing, so she slid to sit beside him. She offered him a candy. “Got this from the village square. Apparently you can only get this in autumn. At least that’s what the merchant said.”

“Sango,” Inuyasha said, his eyes dazed. “I think…”

“What?” Sango said, popping the sweet into her mouth.

“I think Kagome is having an affair… with Sesshoumaru.”

The candy dropped from Sango’s lips. “ _WHAT?!_ ”

**_To be continued…_ **


	6. A Hullabaloo of Complications

Disclaimer: 'One Call Away' song lyrics as written by Matt Prime, Breyan Stanley Isaac, Charlie Puth, Blake Anthony Carter, Justin Franks, Maureen Anne Mcdonald

 _I'm only one call away_  
_I'll be there to save the day_  
_Superman got nothing on me_  
_I'm only one call away_  
- **One Call Away** , Charlie Puth

**A Hullabaloo of Complications**

Miroku squatted near the  _shoji_  door of the verandah, his eye poking through the small hole he had perforated through the translucent paper. Inuyasha and Sango were talking in hushed, albeit excited tones to each other, their faces shiny with the impatience of the scheming. Or at least that's what it appeared to the priest.

He clutched his  _kazana_ -cursed hand.  _I knew it!_  he mentally anguished,  _I can hear the words "scandalous" and "outrageous"! They're plotting something against me! But what?_

Miroku was extremely sure that Inuyasha had snitched on him, and informed Sango of his "adventures" at the pleasure quarters, which later ended up with him at the back kitchen of the inn because he was several ryō short. The  _hanyou_  had been cruelly unforgiving when Miroku requested him for assistance, and he ran out suddenly in the middle of washing a big pot, leaving Miroku to shoulder his dues alone.

His deep sigh dribbled out weakly.  _Inuyasha, I trusted you. We were supposed to be brothers._

Dinner was a quiet sombre affair, save for the scarfing sounds from Shippo as he helped himself to the sumptuous offerings. It was the best dinner they had in ages, a real actual proper one, with beef _yakitori_  and  _miso_  soup and sweet desserts to top everything off. Darn it, there was even crab.

He peered around his friends, whose minds all seemed to be elsewhere, poking chopsticks glumly into their bowls. Even Kagome didn't seem to be in a good mood, her mouth in a pout as she chewed her food slowly, but then again, the  _miko_  always had something to be ruffled about.

"What's wrong, guys? Why are y'all so gloomy?" he asked.

"I'm done," Inuyasha mumbled, his bowl clattering as he immediately got up to leave. Sango watched him emphathetically, then looked at Kagome. Miroku eyed the  _taijiya_  cautiously as he bit into a prawn  _tempura._

It was a stuffy, humid night. Sango had trouble drifting into sleep. Not when the mosquitos had managed to infiltrate into the room and buzz past her ears. She tossed and turned on the futon for the umpteenth time, and slapped her arm when she felt a mosquito.

"You drive me crazy…." Kagome said aloud in her sleep beside her.

Sango stiffened and sat up, looking at her friend. Kagome was fast asleep, hugging her pillow possessively, her breaths in a steady harmony.

"…Sesshoumaru."

Sango's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. No! Was it true after all what Inuyasha said—an affair!—but it was preposterous! But here Kagome was, dreaming of that  _youkai_ …that Sesshoumaru!

"I told you, I don't wanna…" Kagome mumbled further. A small whimper escaped. "Don't force me, you big meanie…"

 _What—what exactly is she dreaming?!_  Sango shut her eyes and cupped her ears. The realization of the truth was too much for her to bear. She slapped her neck as another mosquito bit her neck. At last she found herself leaving the room, trying to catch a fresh breath of air.

Miroku who was on guard duty outside, caught her figure as she ran towards the water well at the back of the inn. She was frantically washing her ears in a strange manner. He stealthily followed her from behind as she headed for the garden. Why was she going out in the dead of the night? The skies were darker than usual, the moon a mere slice behind the sullen clouds.

Sango breathed in surprise at Inuyasha's figure at the small bridge over the garden pond, and the long hair that tumbled down his back was dark. He was human, for the night.

Quickly she ran to him.

"Inuyasha!" she whispered urgently when she caught up to him on the bridge, heaving his shoulders in panic. "I'm starting to believe your words! At first I refused to think you were sane—" And then she related to him everything that had happened, how Kagome had mentioned Sesshoumaru's name, and spoke strange, highly questionable words in her sleep.

Inuyasha's lip quivered and he covered his face with his hands. His hormones became unstable every time he was human, and now his human emotions were threatening to overcome him, knowing that Kagome had betrayed him. Was this what they meant by karma? But still, he didn't deserve this!

He started to wail.

"I knew it! I should have known when Kagome was being extra nice to that mangy Kouga wolf. She only goes for big youkai di—"

"I can't hear a single word they're saying!" Miroku whispered to himself as he hid behind a large zelkova tree. "But I know they're talking about me!" He gritted his teeth. "Sneaking out during the night to scheme against me. Inuyasha, you leave me with no choice. I will reveal everything to Kagome-sama, over what you did last summer!"

"Miroku, what are you doing in the garden?"

The priest froze when he heard the voice behind him. He clamped his mouth as he turned around. It was the  _kitsun_ e, rubbing his eyes groggily.

"Just making my rounds," Miroku answered, then cleared his throat softly. Shippo stared at him, perplexed as he strode off hurriedly.

"Eh, what's that sound?" Sango called out at the bridge, looking around. Inuyasha yelped beside her.

Shippo peeked around the tree. He gasped aloud.

To this day he would never forget the sight that he beheld that night: Inuyasha and Sango locked tight in a special embrace. Sango's soft, bounty bosom pressed snugly against Inuyasha's strong arms, his face red and impassioned.

Shippo hid himself and slumped down the tree. Then he shivered, realizing the gravity of the scene he had witnessed. He bolted off, running towards the water well.

 _My eyes!_  he screamed internally as he doused them with cold water,  _I will never unsee this, not in a hundred years!_

Sango elbowed Inuyasha off, cutting him off with a glare. "What's with you, scaredy-cat?"

"I swear I heard something too!" he said.

Breakfast the next day was an even gloomier affair, worse than last night's dinner. There was a depressing tension on the air hanging on everyone's heads. Kagome chewed on her red bean-paste bun, studying everyone with bright, innocent eyes.

"Did everyone not have a good night's sleep yesterday?" she asked.

Inuyasha jabbed Sango's arm discreetly. Instantly both Miroku and Shippo's heads shot up.

Sango gave an uneasy laugh. "There was a swarm of mosquitos last night. I couldn't get a wink. Um, how about you, Kagome-chan? Did you sleep well last night?"

"I slept like a log yesterday!" Kagome chirped, beaming. "Best sleep in ages!"

Inuyasha gripped his lap.  _Of course you did!_

"Good priest, how about you?" Sango turned to Miroku. "Had a good night's sleep?"

His pair of chopstick shook in his hand. She was testing him. She wanted to know if he felt guilty of his transgressions. It was all part of their plan, to make him feel like a miserable and wretched criminal!

Miroku chuckled and managed a well-worn smile. "How could I," he said, "when you didn't?"

Shippo's eyes shimmered at Miroku. The poor priest. If only he knew what really was going on…

* * *

 

The village was holding an autumn festival in two days, to celebrate the season's harvest. Inuyasha's group had volunteered to help set up the banners and lanterns together with the villagers, but Kagome had to return home that day.

"You're always telling me this kinda things last-minute!" he yelled at her atop a ladder.

"Idiot! I told you this two weeks ago! I have a freaking test on Monday!"

"Why don't you go home yourself, huh? Or better yet, ask that Sesshoumaru to send ya off!"

Kagome stomped her feet. Then she pulled the ladder, and Inuyasha crashed butt-first to the ground.

"You dirty bit—"

"Guys, please don't fight," Sango pleaded. "Kagome-chan, Kirara and I will send you off." She guided Kagome by her shoulders, away from the expletive-spewing  _hanyou_.

The clouds skimmed past them, two young women on youkai-back, tagged by a little  _kitsune_  who had decided to join as well. The high altitude meant a lower temperature, and Kagome was grateful for the cashmere sweater she was wearing, knitted by her mother with a K embroided on the front. She lowered herself and pressed her chest against Kirara's warm and furry back.

"I don't understand what's going on in his head," she ranted for the half-past hour. "He's been extra fidgety since he rescued me from a flock of crows yesterday. Maybe they ate part of his brain. What do you think, guys?"

Sango and Shippo sighed. They didn't want to tell Kagome what was on their minds.

"Bye guys," Kagome bade them farewell, as she hung a leg over the ledge of the Bone-eaters' Well, and they waved at her back. Kagome leapt towards the dark mouth waiting for her.

She waited for the familiar darkness to consume her, transport her through the black hole of time…but instead her body jerked in mid-motion, her legs barely grazing the bottom of the well.

Kagome looked up. She saw Sesshoumaru's face from the corner, staring at her. She was hanging from the death-grip he had locked on her arm.

"The times may be harsh and sometimes it may appear as though everything is devoid of hope. But I believe there is a silver lining to every cloud."

She squinted her eyes at the  _daiyoukai_. She couldn't even be surprised anymore.

"I shouldn't even want to ask this but what exactly are you trying to do?" she asked.

" _Save_  you, of course," he answered matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"From  _what_?"

"Your attempted suicide."

Outside Sango and Shippo watched on, a thousand thoughts whirling in their heads.

Shippo scratched his chin as he wondered.  _Sesshoumaru has been acting odd ever since he rescued me from that old hag. That's it! Kagome saved his life and he is trying to pay her back. An eye for an eye after all! That's what he said back at the hot spring!_

Sango however was assessing the scene differently.

 _Sesshoumaru is holding her hand. He doesn't want to see her go_ , her thoughts processed.  _Even Inuyasha is not as dramatic as this. I never thought I would witness their love first-hand..._   _Kagome-chan, I thought we were close. And yet you never told me..._ Her eyes moistened with fresh tears.  _But it's alright. If you're happy, I'm happy._

Sango smiled to herself as she wiped a lone tear. She looked at the frowning kit. "Shippo, maybe we should go now. Let's not disrupt a lover's serenade."

Shippo raised a brow. "Eh, lover?" Did she mean... Shippo's mind was directed to only one thought.  _Sango must be impatient to return to Inuyasha._

"Let me gooooo!" Kagome was screaming. At last she managed to pry herself from his grip, and she fell downwards, the time-warp swallowing both her and her screams.

Sesshoumaru stiffened at the lost weight on his arm. He looked down. The girl…had disappeared.

Without another thought he jumped into the well. The soles of his shoes crunched against dirt and bone-dust. He whirled around in confusion. Then he knelt towards the ground, digging through the filth.

"Lass, lass!" he called, but the echoes of his voice bounced back to him. His hands moved urgently. " _Ka-go-me!_ "

A couple of villagers were walking towards the Bone-Eater's well, carrying a stinking tub of demon innards formerly a cockroach  _youkai_  that old Kaede had decimated. "Hey-ho!" they shouted, as they threw the contents of the tub into the well as per standard procedures, to dispose and purify.

"She died," Sesshoumaru spoke to himself. "She died and I was unable to save her."

He leaned his back against the stone, looking up as cockroach guts rained onto him from the sky. A broken piece of leg pelted on his cheek.

"In the end, this Sesshoumaru was unable to uphold the end of his deal. A hanging life-debt, this is. My reputation and honour will never be restored."

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and sighed. The feeling of sheer devastation had numbed him, and he sat at the bottom of the well for a long time, covered in a filthy mess.

_**To be continued!** _

**[A/N: Oh my...this chapter is so full of misunderstandings and complications, isn't it! And it ends with Sesshoumaru looking pathetic as heck… Please don't be disappointed, Lord Sesshoumaru! Good things await the patient! *says the sadistic author*]**


	7. Sesshoumaru and the Giant Lemon

[A/N: Another goofy, silly chapter! The timeline of this fic is messed up-if Sesshoumaru already owns Bakusaiga, then this would be somewhere in the final arc where they're facing Magatsuhi and whatnot, and it wouldn't be autumn, but let's ignore that! XD]

**Sesshoumaru and the Giant Lemon**

 

Once again Kagome was back in Sengoku-Jidai, although a day earlier than planned.

It was Sports Day, deemed as a national holiday back in 21st-century Tokyo. With no school to impede her time-travelling adventures, that Friday morning saw Kagome contemplating hard on the floor. Should she just bring her fruity-scented perfume _or_ the standard ol’ regular deodorant spray?

At last, remembering Inuyasha’s sensitive (read: fussy) sense of smell, she chucked her deodorant into her suffocating backpack, and headed to the old well outside her house. A twist in time, and a jog through space, and within minutes Kagome found herself in the magical, dangerous world of the Feudal Era, where bloodthirsty demons and wicked warlords teemed alike.

“Haaaaaa, it’s a wonderful morning today, if I don’t say so myself.” She stretched herself, marching her way to Inuyasha’s village, passing through a fruit orchard where it smelled of peaches and oranges. She was early on her schedule, and her friends were not here to fetch her.

A cheeky grin came to her. Kagome was alone. Alone meant free, and free meant…

She took off her shoes, then her socks. With the grass tickling beneath her feet and the gentle morning sun warm on her face, she started to whirl and prance about.

_Somewhere nearby…_

“I think you’re right, Jaken-sama,” Rin whispered beside the old _kappa_ , who was crouched drawing caricatures on the sand with his Human-Head Cane. “I think the aliens really got him and played around with his switches!”

Jaken hushed her with a hard nudge of his elbow. “Shhhh, don’t let him hear you! But it’s true isn’t it, what I said? He’s been nothing but listless ever since he returned—talking to himself and knocking into trees, how pathetic! It’s either the aliens or he’s high on mushrooms, and I’m betting on the first one.”

Rin and Jaken stole a peek at their lord stealthily over their shoulders. Sesshoumaru was flat on the grass, squinting heavily at the sun as his lips moved in a murmur.

“I opened the path to Hades, and yet I could not find her soul. So the question remains: Did she die, or did she not?”

“It’s the aliens,” Jaken told Rin. “They’re transmitting some kind of message to him from the sun.”

Suddenly Sesshoumaru shot up straight and his two wards yelped out with surprise.

“There,” their lord said, pointing up a finger. “Do you hear that?”

“And what is it that you hear, O Supreme One?” Jaken quaked in his knees, crying. “Are they coming to subjugate every one of us in this world as I highly feared?”

“Music. This Sesshoumaru hears music,” Sesshoumaru answered, and he gathered on his heels and sauntered off into the forest.

“It’s too late, he’s leaving us!” Jaken cried.

“Nooooo, Sesshoumaru-sama! Please don’t go!” Rin implored. “You still haven’t taught me how you did that coin trick!”

_Back to the fruit orchard where Kagome is reliving a Flashdance scene…_

“Well, Aiiiii hear the music, close my eyes, feel the rhythm,” Kagome sang, as she hopped over fallen logs, leapt over sharp rocks and spun around in circles, like a ballerina. “Wrap arooound, take a hooold of my heaaart…”

Behind a chestnut tree, Sesshoumaru hid himself as he watched the peculiar _miko_. His chest was shuddering—“ _she’s aliveeee!”_ his beast screamed—and he slapped himself to maintain his composure.

Like a shinobi ninja, lightning-quick on his feet, he flitted from tree to tree, tailing the dancing priestess closely…

“What a feeeeling!” Kagome sung shrilly at the chorus as she ran forward, arms open, as the cool wind coursed through her hair. “Bein's belieeevin'! I can have it all, now I'm dancing foooor my life!”

And then she tripped over a buttress root, “Kyaaa!” she cried, and Sesshoumaru immediately sprang out from the bushes in reflex, all ready to play his role of a knight in shining armour.

Except she was laughing when he finally made his appearance.

“Ah,” Kagome said. “If it isn’t you, hoping to catch the moment I slip.” And then she pretended to wobble over the tree root again, of which Sesshoumaru tensed, and she doubled over, gasping with laughter. “Ooops! Did you fell for that, really?”

Sesshoumaru frowned as he strode towards her. Kagome tried to stifle her laugh as he cornered her against the tree. _Crap, I forgot he doesn’t have a sense of humour._

Her smile disappeared however when his face neared hers, his nose twitching as he took in her scent. She shut her eyes, she could feel his breath— _this is too close, waaay too close!_ —and then suddenly Sesshoumaru pulled her cheeks.

“Tell me, this is not an apparition I am seeing, no?”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

A few minutes later, Kagome was wheezing with laughter again as she walked further into the orchard. “H-hold on. You thought I died and disappeared into the well? No no no, that was just the portal back home.”

“Home?”

Kagome wiped a teary eye. “Yeah, it’s a long story, not that you’re interested in.” When she glanced back, she realized Sesshoumaru had stopped quite a distance behind, as he shielded his nose with a kimono-clad arm.

She looked around them. They were surrounded by mandarin trees. Slowly she picked a mandarin orange near her feet and tossed it towards his direction. Immediately he leapt backwards.

“You don’t like oranges?”

“Cease your laughter,” Sesshoumaru said angrily. “The scent of citrus is distressing. I see no humour in this.”

_Hmm, how interestiiiing._

She continued towards her path towards Inuyasha’s village, all the while noting how he was still pursuing her, albeit from a careful distance. She sighed. When would he ever give up?

“You know, Sesshoumaru. You did save me once, you know. Remember that crazy Shinchinintai gang? That was such a troublesome arc. When Mukotsu poisoned me, if you had not burst in to kill him…”

“You are mistaken. At that time, I did not come for you.”

She shrugged then set her heavy bag under a tree. Her back was sweating. She sat down, picked an orange and started to peel it.

“Well I wonder, then,” she said, between chews. “What it's like to be _really_ rescued by the powerful, almighty Lord Sesshoumaru? Must be a great honour, isn’t it?”

Sesshoumaru smirked and brushed back his hair. _Wouldn’t you like to know, lass?_

Suddenly the ground started to shake. Their birds flew from the trees, scattering. Kagome panicked, staying still on the ground as a booming voice suddenly filled through the sky.

_“Fee fi fo fum. I smell the blood of a Japanese mutt.”_

She peeked her head to the side. Her jaw dropped. There was a giant lemon at the end of the path, and it had a large face on its flat, yellow porous skin. As of the moment it didn’t look very pleased.

“How dare you trespass my orchard without permission!” the giant lemon bellowed towards Sesshoumaru, who looked every bit as incredulous as the _miko_.

“Who are you?” he asked.

The lemon huffed. If lemons could huff.

“My name is Mama Lemon and I am the guardian of this orchard.” Suddenly Mama Lemon gasped, as its line of sight trained to the scraps of orange peelings on the ground. Its eyes started to water. “My babies. You ate my babies!”

The forest began to rumble as the giant lemon rolled towards Sesshoumaru at a ferocious speed. “I will send you to canine hell!”

Sesshoumaru’s face twitched, visibly irritated. Kagome wasn’t worried, however. _This is piece of cake for you! Slice it with your sword!_ Instead she watched with horror as the _daiyoukai_ fell to his knees, covering his mouth as he started coughing.

Kagome closed her eyes and screamed as the giant lemon flattened him onto the ground. Then it reversed and rolled over him again and again, grinding him for good measure.

Mama Lemon whirled away, crying over the fate of her offspring. Kagome ran over to Sesshoumaru. However she saw that the lemon was backing away only to gear itself up for another roll. She shook Sesshoumaru violently on the shoulders. “Get up, get up, get up! You’re gonna be dog squash!”

“For my babies!!!” Mama Lemon roared, as she raged towards them. Sesshoumaru struggled to sit up, his body still racked with coughs as the incoming giant lemon screamed for him.

Kagome smacked her forehead, her perception of the great Lord Sesshoumaru completely altered. And she thought _she_ was the so-called damsel in distress! She looked towards her bag. She didn’t have her bow and arrows with her. Great! What now?

Growling to herself, she ransacked her backpack. Aha! She ran towards its path and aimed her deodorant spray and lighter towards the giant lemon, just in time as it was mere centimetres towards her and Sesshoumaru…

A large blaze of fire erupted towards its face. Mama Lemon screamed in anguish as its face blackened and sizzled. It howled in defeat as it rolled backwards, disappearing from the tracks. Kagome waited. It did not come back.

Kagome sighed at Sesshoumaru’s side. “That was close! Any second there you would have been juice.”

Sesshoumaru frowned and looked at her, slowly removing his hand. “What did you do?”

“Oh? It's a neat little trick, my deodorant and lighter!” And she proceeded to offer a demonstration towards his face, as she clicked the lighter and pressed on her deodorant’s nozzle as the same time. “ _I’m so sorryyyyy!”_ She howled as his hair caught fire, instantly pulling out a fire extinguisher from her bag to spray on his head.

“Just be gone, you stupid lass!” Sesshoumaru kicked her away in exasperation.

Kagome knelt before him and clapped her hands together in apology. “I'm really sorry! It's my fault the giant lemon attacked you. Hey, you're not angry, are you?”

She looked up. Sesshoumaru had strode off, leaving her without another word. Kagome pouted to herself. _He's really angry. Oh well, I guess it is my fault, in a way._

“Unbelievable,” Sesshomaru grumbled to himself, regretting over today’s turn of events. He, defeated by a mere lemon? What a joke of the century. He could not even face the _miko_ now if he wanted to. “It is 2-0 on the scoreboard now.”

_Awhile later…_

“Sesshoumaru attacked by a giant lemon?” Old Kaede said. “Well I never.”

“It’s true!” Kagome said beside the old woman, as she helped to grind the herbs on the grinding slab. “But no one would ever believe my story, would they?”

Kaede harrumped. “Nevertheless you shouldn't play with fire, Kagome. And I don’t mean that trick you performed.”

Kagome giggled as she remembered the cold, stony façade of Lord Sesshoumaru, and how she had seen a side of him no one knew. “Nope,” she said. “I’m playing with ice.”

“Then you don't want to freeze to death.” Kaede looked on at the windows as the curtains fluttered in the weak wind. Autumn was going to end soon, and they would need to stock up for food.

“Winter is approaching. Be careful now, Kagome.”

 

**_To be continued!_ **

****

**[** A/N: Credits: ‘What a Feeling’ as performed by Irene Cara, written by Irene Cara, Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey]


	8. I Know What You Did Last Summer

**I Know What You Did Last Summer**

 

A day after the Mama Lemon incident, and approximately a fortnight before the first fall of snow, Sesshoumaru paid a little visit to Totosai's humble abode.

The old blacksmith whistled when the  _daiyoukai_  had made a startling appearance at the entrance, looking in the most sorriest of states.

"Ye again?" Totosai said as he gestured him inside with a swing of his hammer. "Didn't ye come by one moon ago? I haven't seen your armour this pitiful since 1339. That was a glorious era, wasn't it, a glorious era it was. Now Sesshoumaru, ye  _must_  tell me what's going on."

 _I'm embroiled in a preposterous quagmire of a life debt I'm obligated by honour to resolve, that's what’s going on_.

Sesshoumaru sighed heavily as he began to strip himself of the offending clunk of metal, hanging precariously on his shoulders, along with his gaping chest plate.

"The first one was Okuni-baba, the ogre-witch. The second…was a giant lemon."

Totosai started coughing, then craned his neck back. "Eh? Ye need to stop mumbling to yourself, Sesshoumaru. For a while there my ears misheard "giant lemon"."

"Likewise."

"But Okuni-baba, eh?" Totosai wondered aloud, brushing through his long beard. "Okuni… Okuni… Ah. Is she still making potions in that old brickhouse of hers?"

"I decimated it to the ground. Now she can retire in peace."

"That brickhouse was there when I was a mere sapling, old as time it was, old as time. I reckon she is still up and alive?"

Sesshoumaru seated himself near Totosai by the hearth. "She managed to escape."

Totosai nodded in understanding. "She's a slick little one, that Okuni, always has been. But she was a banging beauty, was she not? I'd do her. A bit pity her voice carried that uncanny pitch…"

"Totosai, I need to get my armour fixed," Sesshoumaru reminded coldly.

"Yes, yes, I know. But let's have a drink first, shall we? The first time ye came here, ye had rudely refused to accept my invitation." Totosai then shouted to the back of his house. "Yoru! We have a guest here. Please make some tea!"

"Right, Totosai-sama!" came a young voice from the back. "I'll go fetch some water right after I'm done feeding the chickens!"

"No, Yoru! Drop the corn and go draw the water now!"

"But the chickens—"

"Yoru! The Lord of the Western Lands does not like to be kept in waiting!"

Sesshoumaru frowned quietly at the tattered tatami mat flooring near his feet. He scratched it with a sharp finger-claw, as Totosai cooled himself with a straw fan, muttering something inane to himself.

Sesshoumaru had not come with the sole purpose of repairing his broken armour (courtesy of the great Mama Lemon). He had also sought to breach a difficult subject. It was not a matter of high importance, but it had been bothering him for some time now, like a stinging nettle stuck to his skin. He took a deep breath and removed his finger.

"Totosai, Okuni mentioned something peculiar about my ancestors. Is it true that my father’s father—"

"Yoru, hasten, little boy, the Lord is thirsty!"

"—and the ones before him kept human concubines—"

"Totosai-sama, the chickens won't let me get away! They're pecking at my feet!"

"—and that this tradition served as a symbol of good luck—"

"Why don't ye just dump the feed on the ground, boy? Yer spoiling the chickens by hand-feeding them, that's what yer doing!"

“—after all, I was under the assumption that this human-keeping trait was only present in my father, and it was not actually a recurring practice along the generations—"

"I'm out of feed but they're still hungry!"

"So is the Lord, boy, so is the Lord! Now if ye don't come running here in 3 seconds with water, I'll lock ye up with the chickens in the coop!"

The boy came dashing to the hearth a few seconds later, water spilling from the buckets down to the floor in an unceremonious fashion. It splashed lightly on Sesshoumaru's pants.

"Ah, please forgive me!"

Sesshoumaru's hand was trembling. Slowly he brought it to massage his temples.

Totoasai stopped fanning himself. "Eh, ye were saying, Sesshoumaru?"

"Never mind."

"Now, now, don't sulk. Yoru, quick bring the water to boil and get the tea pot out. And Sesshoumaru, if ye wish to shed light on that matter, perhaps ye would be better off speaking to General Aokimaru instead. Ye still remember him, don't ye?"

Awhile later the tea flowed smoothly into the cups with a soft fragrance. Sesshoumaru lifted his and frowned at his wavering reflection inside.

"General Aokimaru?"

Totosai nodded agreeably. "Yes. He was the best of comrades on the field, and the best of friends with your father. Inseparable like horseshoe crabs, they were, like horseshoe crabs. I believe they also went fishing together, if ye know what I mean." He slurped on his tea.

"Hn," Sesshoumaru said, sipping on his. "My father had always had questionable hobbies. Like knitting oversized woollen socks, for example. Nobody ever wears them."

"Tell me about it."

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and his comrades had returned to their adventures, and after a long day of hiking through forested mountains, they finally called for a rest. Perched on dead logs before a crackling bonfire, they swathed themselves in blankets and cupped warm bowls, in the increasing chill of the forest.

"Kagome, you haven't eaten anything since morning! Are you sure ya just gonna settle with  _that_?"

"I don't mind, Inuyasha. I'm perfectly fine with my organic low-fat gluten-free granola bars. Gee, I don't even know what gluten means."

"But it looks like rat food!"

Kagome huffed. "Everything is wrong to your eyes, isn't it? It's either I eat too much or I eat too little. Also, you've been seriously annoying these past few days. You're acting like an overbearing aunt!"

"You're missing my point!" Inuyasha scratched through his head, exasperated. "Anyways we've been walking the whole day. Your knees must be aching, right? Here, lemme get Sango to massage them for you! Sangoooo!"

"That's what I mean! Stop doing that!"

"Inuyasha, get me out of this!" Sango chided. Then she turned to the others. "Goodness, I'm dying from second-hand embarrassment just watching that idiot. Someone just separate them  _please_."

"Are you sure that's the only reason you want them separated?" Shippo asked testily.

"Anyways, Inuyasha has been acting strange ever since Kagome-sama returned," Miroku said, rubbing his chin. "It's almost as if he's trying really hard to please her. But his exhaustive efforts has only served to backfire him."

Sango giggled. "You mean you don't know?"

Kagome suddenly popped beside them on the log. "Know what?" she said.

The four of them huddled together in a ring.

"Inuyasha's trying to win back your heart!" Sango whispered fiercely. "After all, you're no longer smitten with him but with Sesshoumaru!"

Kagome gasped dramatically. "Where did you get that?! I'm absolutely not having an affair with his brother!"

Shippo twisted his mouth. "What kind of complicated drama are you guys playing? I thought it was already weird enough that Inuyasha is cheating on her with Sango." Then he shot a look at the paling priest. "Oops!"

"S-Sango, is this true?" stammered Miroku. "No, don't answer me. This is how Amitabha wishes to punish me for my crimes. As if this kazaana-cursed hand is not enough."

"Now that's outright blasphemy!" Sango cried. "I would never be interested in that smelly, dirty half-dog!"

"Are you guys bad-mouthing me?!" Inuyasha stormed, pulling the group apart. "I can hear every single word you know!"

Kagome stood up and clasped her hands on Inuyasha's face. Her eyes glistened with tears. Inuyasha wore a petrified smile, not knowing what to expect.

"Inuyasha, is it true that you've been acting extra concerned with me because you really thought I had the hots for Sesshoumaru?"

"W-wha? Isn't that what's happening? The both of you are obviously involved in some suspicious agenda I know nothing of."

She breathed a laugh. "Oh, you're such an idiot. Even though Sesshoumaru is hands down more cooler, stronger, refined and oh-so-gorgeous—not to mention an actual  _full-blooded_ demon—it didn't mean my heart strayed for one minute. Besides, I can't settle for someone with a resting bitch face."

Inuyasha held her hands on his face, his eyes too shimmering like pearls. "Kagome, is that true? The part about your heart, I mean."

She nodded. "My day starts and ends with you, Inuyasha. You've become part of who I am now. My name is your name."

“Oh Kagome. Whatever that means.”

“Oh Inuyasha.”

Miroku knocked his staff heavily against the ground. He coughed. "Forgive me, Kagome-sama but not to your burst your bubble. There  _is_  something you must know about Inuyasha." He turned to send a glare at a confused Sango. Then he locked his eyes hard onto the  _hanyou_.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. But in light of the fact that you have been scheming with Sango behind my back—"

"What in blazes are you talking about—" Inuyasha and Sango chorused at the same time.

"Kagome-sama!" The priest suddenly announced in a grave, important voice. "The truth is…last summer…"

"…It was Inuyasha who threw up inside your bag!"

The world went dark around Kagome. The lights went off in her head. "Huhhhhh?"

"You big snitch!" Inuyasha growled, yanking at Miroku's robe. "Why the hell did you tell her that?!"

"Because you told Sango I visited the pleasure quarters!"

"I absolutely did not!"

"Good priest!" Sango gasped. "Tell me this is just  _lies_  I am hearing!"

Shippo folded his hands and shook his head. "Definitely some weird drama. I don't even know what's the real truth anymore. Hey Kirara, let's go catch some clapping games while they sort themselves out."

"Huhhhhh?" Kagome continued. She blinked, until Miroku's words finally pieced themselves together. The lightbulb activated, and her mind was flooded with light. An uncontrollable rage consumed her. "Inuyashaaaaa! That was  _your_  vomit, after all?  _You_  were the one who barfed into my bag!?"

Inuyasha spat on the ground. "What did you expect?! That curry you cooked tasted like the depths of hell!"

"Do you have any idea how many runs of washing cycles my bag had to go through?!"

"It's your fault for—"

" _Osuwariiiiii!_   _Osuwari osuwari osuwari!_  I hate you!"

“So much so for “my name is your name”,” Shippo mumbled at the corner.

"Priest! I hate you too!" Sango shouted.

"Aye, aye. All's well ends well."

The group fell into a collective sigh. Just then the breeze picked up, and with it brought a peculiar scent. Inuyasha's nose crinkled as he struggled to straighten himself up.

There was a dark shadow of a figure in between the trees. It slowly creeped out before them on nimble steps, revealing a small, white face. Everyone turned in surprise.

"How wonderful. Seems like my search has not been for naught after all," the stranger said, smiling. Inuyasha's dark eyebrows cocked up. It was a woman.

Her voice was strange, like the rumbling of stones.

_To be continued!_

**A/N: In which the misunderstandings get resolved and the plot thickens! (what plot?)**

 


	9. Lady in Silk

**A/N: A plot-driven chapter! Okuni makes a startling reappearance with a…strange sidekick?**

**Lady in Silk**

"How wonderful. Seems like my search has not been for naught after all."

She removed her straw hat, revealing her full features. A benign smile sat on her pale, angelic face.

_Okuni!_ Kagome thought instantly.

A second later came the sound of an approaching cartwheel, horse-hooves cobbling against the forested grounds. It stopped behind Okuni, and another white face emerged beside her. A pair of glittering sapphire eyes were lined in black, a hint of _sakura_ pink colouring the edge of its lids.

The new stranger bowed, a long parasol hanging from her arm. Like Okuni, she owned a peculiar voice, deep with a sing-song rhythm. "Greetings, my fellow countrymen. If I may grant an audience. My name is Seiran. The mistress and I came here following the sweet trail of a _hanyou_ 's scent."

Immediately Sango and Miroku pointed straight to a bewildered Inuyasha in the middle. "Hey!" he shouted.

Miroku then immediately bound into action. He held Okuni's hand gently. "Lady, I understand we have only met, but would you do the honour of bearing my—"

"Priest!" the _taijiya_ shouted, swinging her Hiraikotsu at him. Undeterred, he jumped to his next opportunity. "Seiran is it? You seem like a fair flower as well—" Her boomerang returned and whacked him twice. Miroku retreated with two swelling bumps on his head.

"Okuni!" Kagome and Shippo finally shouted, as the element of shock finally wore off. "The Demon Child-Eater! You're still alive!"

Okuni's eyes narrowed at Kagome. "You're that unfashionable priestess. Meddlesome as well, if I remember correctly."

It was impossible, Kagome thought. Didn't she perish? In her mind all this while, Sesshoumaru had effectively removed her before going ahead to rescue the demon younglings.

"Kagome, do you know her?" Inuyasha asked. Of which Kagome was pressed to relate quickly everything that had happened—from how Shippo had been kidnapped as fodder, to the amusing-at-first-but-now-just-plain-annoying rescue game she was embroiled with Sesshoumaru.

"A score of 2-0?" Inuyasha bellowed understandably. "How fantastic. So it all started because you had a run-in with that prick, and you're only telling me this _now_?"

"This wouldn't have happened if you had helped me rescue Shippo!" Kagome defended herself. "How was I to know things would escalate further?"

"Enough," Okuni growled to her. Inuyasha and Kagome backed in surprise as the Demon Child-Eater intercepted her way between them. "You're agitating my merchandise."

_M-merchandise?_ Kagome thought. Okuni turned to Inuyasha, and with an uncanny strength suddenly grabbed onto his jaw. She grinned at him and he froze—her mouth was full of razor-sharp blades. "Yes," Okuni said again, "this _hanyou_ is now my merchandise."

Inuyasha stilled in confusion. No woman had ever grabbed him like that. And those teeth, damn… She tilted her head, scrutinizing him. "Would you look at that? A baby-face, and yet such _wild_ eyes." Her deadly grin widened. "You give me odd thrills, little puppy. A pity such a face is impractical." Her other hand smoothed down his fire-rat robe, reaching towards his abdomen. "I'm only interested in one thing."

"H-hey, watch where that hand is going!" Kagome went, clearly red in the face. Okuni clicked her tongue with displeasure. "Seiran," she eyed the other woman.

Seiran stepped forward. She raised a graceful arm, and a shot of silk burst out from inside her kimono sleeve. Kagome screamed as she was hurled to the nearest tree, her back crashing against the hard wood. The silk had bound her to the trunk, her limbs locked down. She was paralysed.

"Kagome!" the others yelled.

" _Hiraikotsu!_ " Sango hurled, but Okuni had filched out her weapon just as quick.

" _Tender Breeze!_ " Sango watched in horror as a gust of wind attacked them, and her boomerang was sent whirling into the sky. And then she too, screamed as her body was sent crashing to a tree, strapped with silk.

"Sango!" Miroku dashed towards her, but it was too late, as a lash of cloth coiled around his ankles. Shippo and Kirara were met with the same fate.

"What the hell—" Inuyasha went, watching all of his comrades struggling in their confines. It was the aftermath of a banner festival, the colourful yards of cloth further binding their bodies to the next tree. Some were stuck between the barren branches, flapping weakly in the breeze. From turquoise to burgundy to saffron, their vibrant colours contrasted against the orange and brown autumn landscape.

Inuyasha grabbed the hilt of Tessaiga, feeling the familiar _youki_ load resisting his arm, and he yanked the sword out with his own larger force. The fang snarled, transforming into the omnipotent killing weapon.

Out of nowhere something slithered and locked around his wrists, hard enough to thwart the velocity of his attack.

Inuyasha cursed aloud at the silk binding his hands—they burned his skin—and at last they managed to pull his arms away, prying his hands of Tessaiga. The fang dropped to the ground, hissing as it reverted to its dormant state. Seeing the opportunity, Okuni directed a blow of her steel fan. Inuyasha struggled in vain as he watched Tessaiga, like Hiraikotsu, flinging into the grey sky.

The two ladies laughed, a crackling, high-pitched whine accompanied with a deep, gurgling chuckle. Okuni smiled, as she folded back her fan. She turned back and looked over her shoulder. "Seiran, why don't you take care of this for me? It's just like hunting game. You want to impress your mistress, don't you?"

"Yes," Seiran answered, determination hard-set in her eyes as the other woman seated herself at the cartwheel, waiting, watching. Kagome shuddered as Seiran walked towards Inuyasha. She bit her lip. It was already bad enough with Okuni, and she hadn't even revealed her true power yet. Who was this Seiran? Was she as formidable?

Inuyasha's fists gripped as he collected all the _youki_ he could muster, careful enough not to let it overtake him. Exploding into a roar, Inuyasha tore apart the silk sheets.

" _Iron reaver, soul stealer!"_ His claws slashed at Seiran who leapt backward just in time. Her parasol flew open and started spinning, bringing her afloat.

"For Amaterasu's sake," Inuyasha muttered, as he watched Seiran hover above him. And he thought he had seen everything.

Now without Tessaiga, Inuyasha could only rely on his attack skills and wit to defeat the slithering cloth lady. He managed to dodge in time as a current of silk aimed towards him, and soon Inuyasha was rolling on the ground as waves of cloth came crashing.

"Dammit," he yelled. The streams of silk came in all directions, and they were too fast, their bright colours muddling his vision. He felt them wrapping around his wrists and ankles, constricting around his body like snakes. Up in the air Seiran held the juncture of the network of silks she had created, and pulled.

Inuyasha felt himself being hoisted in the air, the ends of the silk wrapping around his body, shackling him to a tree. Inuyasha resisted with all his might, screaming vulgarities as Seiran watched, smiling.

"Inuyasha, stop struggling!" The priest called. "The bindings are all connected! The harder you pull, the more you will hurt us!"

"He's right!" Sango added. "The sheets of cloth are all entertwined, like a mad tangle of a spider's nest. You can't use your powerful strength to escape without causing dire damage to us!"

"Dammit! How the hell am I supposed to free myself?!"

Seiran smirked at his exasperation. "Silly boy. You do _not_ , of course. You didn't think the mistress would come empty-handed, would you?" She strolled towards him with steady steps, the parasol shading her. "I know all about you, Inuyasha. I've heard tales of your swashbuckling group. How a bunch of misfits operate together, calling yourselves justice warriors."

"Justice warriors," Shippo gasped quietly. "I didn't know we sounded so cool."

"That's why I brought Mistress Okuni here," Seiran continued. "So she can get a taste of a _real_ half-demon. But ah. What to do, now that our poor hero is robbed off his sword?" Seiran's face creased with mock sorrow and before long Inuyasha realized there was something strange about this woman.

He spat to the ground. "Ya cross-dressing—" A shot of green silk burst out from inside Seiran's sleeve, coiling itself tightly around Inuyasha's neck.

"What was that?" said Seiran, her eyes wide with menace. "Say it again." Inuyasha badly wanted to, if not of the fact that his throat was choking. Damn, he didn't know a piece of cloth could be this strong.

"Mistress," Seiran called out to Okuni at the back, who was combing her hair before a pocket mirror. "Am I doing good?"

"Not good. Not until the _hanyou_ is inside the cage." Okuni gestured to the large cage sitting on the cartwheel. " _Then_ , we can call it a day."

"Okuni!" Kagome shouted, furious. "What are you planning to do with Inuyasha?! First it was Shippo, now him!"

"Shut up!" Okuni shouted back. "After you and your interfering mutt foiled my Age-Defying Elixir operation, I found no choice but to build a new business from scratch." She huffed and swiped her beautiful hair behind a dainty ear. "From now on, I deal with _hanyou livers_!"

" _Hanyou what_?!" Kagome gasped in disbelief.

"Yes, there is a high demand for livers from these half-blooded creatures. They say it holds potent aphrodisiac qualities. Keeps you up all night _and_ morning."

_I shouldn't have asked_ , she thought. Kagome felt herself being sick.

"A-aphrodisiac," Miroku said, with all the seriousness and consideration in his eyes. "And how much would you charge for that?"

" _Priest!_ " the _taijiya_ cried.

Seiran chuckled before she pointed her parasol to Inuyasha. "We'll tell you, after we obtain his!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out angrily. "They're gonna kidnap you for your liver! It happened with Shippo once! Do something!"

"Yeah, she said I was going to make her pretty!" Shippo added.

"Shut up!" Inuyasha yelled. "I'm thinking!"

Miroku sighed with regret. "If my hands aren't locked behind me, I would have used my _kazaana_ to end all of this."

"Don't be disheartened, priest," Sango said from her tree beside him. "We'll get out of this. We've been through worse!"

He smiled at her. "Yes, and I expect to think over this one day with you, laughing with our children."

Her eyes shone. "Priest…"

"Come on, guys!" Inuyasha grumbled. "I'm trying to _think_ here! Kagome, you're saying that woman at the back was no match even for Sesshoumaru?"

"True that is! If I wasn't there, he would have been blown to pieces! Oh you should have seen me, Inuyasha! I was like a true, powerful _miko_ , my arrow bursting into a bright holy light—"

"Naw, I know you're just exaggerating!"

"It's true! Ask Okuni!"

"If that's the case, why the hell is she alive?!"

"I don't _know_!"

Inuyasha raged in frustration. "Release me!" he snarled to Seiran, who was rolling her blue eyes. "I'll go, but you won't ever touch my comrades!"

Seiran stilled in surprise. "Really? Is that your ultimate decision?"

The others gasped. "Inuyasha, are you sure about this?"

"Yes you idiots!" he shouted. "I'm going to surrender my liver to them! For the purpose of better procreation!"

"Hmmmm," Seiran went, contemplating. Nevertheless she shut her parasol close. A long blade jutted out from its end. "One move, and I'll strangle your friends to death."

Inuyasha swallowed, and nodded.

"Hey, aren't you going to release them?" Inuyasha questioned, after his bindings came loose, and he landed on the ground on two feet. "Into the cage first," Seiran directed him, with peevish eyes.

Okuni giggled behind her fan, as she watched Inuyasha voluntarily squeeze himself into the cage like a poor prisoner, albeit with a deep scowl. "I don't know why, but somehow you look even better behind bars."

"Sicko."

Kagome rubbed her wrists as they were freed from their confines. The group watched forlornly as the cartwheel became smaller in the distance.

Sango sighed. "I can't believe Inuyasha would sacrifice himself for us just like that. And all this time, I thought he was just a selfish, crude lad." She sobbed on the priest's shoulders, and his hand patted her back, before reaching lower.

"I'm sure Inuyasha has a plan," Kagome said. "Hey, shouldn't we go after them, now that we are free?"

"We can't just barge into them. We need a strategy," Shippo said, rubbing his chin. "First of all, we need to recover Inuyasha's Tesseiga and Sango's Hiraikotsu."

"Shippo is right," Miroku nodded, a red slap mark splayed across his face. He faced the sky towards the east, where Inuyasha was headed. "It's going to be a difficult search. But let's hope we can rescue Inuyasha before it's too late."

* * *

"Eye to eye! So alive! We're beautiful like diamonds in the sky!"

"He never shuts up, does he?" Seiran muttered on the cart, its wooden wheels rattling as the horses pulled them towards their destination. "I hate him already."

"He won't be singing anytime soon once we get home," Okuni said. "We'll be chopping his liver into pieces. But first there is that long marination process."

Seiran smiled to her—or rather _him_ —self. "So tell me, Mistress. The _hanyou_ is in the cage. Am I good enough now?"

"Patience, Seiran. I was just encouraging you just now. In truth you need to try harder."

"Shine bright like a diamond! Shine bright like a diamond!"

Seiran sighed. They were a long way from home.

_**To be continued!** _

**[A/N: Thanks to Kagome, Inuyasha is now a Rihanna fan! (what?)]**


	10. Catch Me When I Fall

A/N: In which the Justice Warriors (minus Inuyasha) employ a new ally, and certain sparks between our favourite daiyoukai and miko are flying!

Catch Me When I Fall

Winter had encroached upon Edo. Clan flags ripple stiffly in the icy wind, and most village doors were kept shut from the snow. Hajime's Ramen Stop was brewing their third pot for the day, and it was only noon. It was funny how business seem to be most brisk during winter when people dreaded to leave their homes, but the cold stomach's call for a hot bowl of soup triumphed over everything else. Yes, it was funny, but that was how the world worked sometimes.

"No, I don't agree to it!" came a young woman's voice from one of the crowded long tables. She was dressed in strange, foreign clothes, and seemed to be part of a stranger entourage that included a Buddhist priest with a head full of hair, a woman hoisting a weapon larger than her and…was that a fox and a cat demon slurping on noodles?

"But Kagome-chan, we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone if we stick to this plan," Sango said.

Kagome folded her hands tightly, her steaming bowl of ramen left untouched. "Fine, let's say I do agree. It doesn't mean he does!"

"Didn't you say Okuni kidnapped Rin and Jaken?" Miroku spoke up. "Also the fact that she almost obliterated him. Knowing Sesshoumaru, I'm sure if given the chance, he will seek for a re-match to prove he's the strongest."

"It's hard enough to make him tag us to fight Okuni and Seiran. But how do we convince him to find Tesseiga?" asked an exasperated Kagome. Why did it appear like she was the only sane, logical person at the table right now? For days her comrades had been talking about engaging Sesshoumaru's help on their rescue mission. It was preposterous. His Pompous and Arrogant Lordship would never even hear of their plans.

"Ply him with your sweet words, Kagome-chan. Recite him a romantic poem. Or pen a love letter, perhaps?"

The little miko banged the table. "For the last time, we are not in love!"

Shippo lifted his wet face from his bowl. "I know it doesn't sound like the best option now, but don't you want to save Inuyasha? We all do. And it's already the first week of winter. Inuyasha's liver is probably sealed in a pickled jar as we speak."

The priest nodded sadly. "It feels strange, isn't it? To enjoy a bowl of ramen without Inuyasha."

Her friends gave a plaintive sigh, and Kagome gave up.

"Alright alright!"

"Excellent!" Miroku clapped his hands "Now finding Sesshoumaru becomes at the top of our to-do list." He jotted down their plans on a notebook Kagome had presented him. It mostly contained his bittersweet observations of a transient life, as well as the names of some questionable women.

"Scratch that," Shippo said, grabbing his pen. "We can make Sesshoumaru come in a second. Just leave it to me."

The little kitsune jumped on the table, as the other patrons continued to dish the group with more dirty stares. Kagome gaped. "Shippo-chan, what are you…" She nearly fainted as the kit transformed into a version of her, but gone were the cashmere sweater and winter leggings—instead her lookalike posing coyly on the table was decked out in a skimpy bikini outfit.

"Sesshoumaruuuu help me! It hurts! It hurts! Someone save me pleeeease! Ah! Ah!"

Miroku stood up, his arms outstretched. "Where does it hurt, Kagome-sama? Tell me!" He received a hard smack on his face.

Kagome screamed, shutting her eyes from the vile image of herself. "SHIPPO-CHAN, NOOOOOOO! DON'T DO THATTTTT!"

The sullen clouds cracked open and lightning flashed across the sky. "It's too late," Sango muttered, as a wintry blast hit across the tables and the snow whirled to reveal Sesshoumaru's imposing figure.

"A ploy?" Sesshoumaru went, his voice laced with anger. The group had finally been kicked out by the food stall for acting as a nuisance. Their conversation continued a few metres away. "I was in the middle of signing an important treaty with the Northern Boars. And you interrupted me with a false distress call?"

"Don't look at me," Kagome sighed, "it was their plan."

He turned his back on the group. "What an amusing lot you all are. It's true I have a truce to settle with the ogre-witch. But what makes you certain that this Sesshoumaru will go ahead to seek Tessaiga's whereabouts? That very same fang, that rejected me?"

"That's because…" Kagome started. She turned around. Her friends had retreated to give them a private space, silently rooting for her from the corner. Her winter boots scraped against the snow, unsure. Should she really go ahead with this? Would he agree to her idea? It all depended on her now! "If you help us, I'll take it that you're saving me a double-fold."

She saw as his figure shift in interest. Her heart started to beat faster with excitement. "It's an ideal arrangement, isn't it? You've been dying to free yourself from this obligation. And I just so happen to really need your help. What do you think?"

"You can do it, Kagome-chan!" Sango shouted a whisper. "Win his heart!"

"Come on, they're going to sell Inuyasha's liver!" Shippo called out loudly, impatient. "Doesn't that worry you a bit?"

A deep rumbling emanated from Sesshoumaru's chest. It took everyone a while to realize he was laughing. "At last that mongrel proves himself of some use." Then he turned to send a deadly glare at the back. "And I really should kill all of you for wasting my time."

Kagome dropped to her knees. Her hands plunged in the snow, the cold prickling her skin. She was losing him. And losing him would mean…losing Inuyasha. Something warm trickled down her face, meeting her lips, something warm and salty. "Sesshoumaru! Please! I'm begging you! Please help us, just for this one time!"

He regarded her with silence for a few moments. "I would very much prefer if you were grovelling to me for your life." He dusted the snow from his pelt. "What are your plans after this?"

Immediately Kagome jumped up, her tears changed to that of happiness. "Yes! Thank you!"

"Get this in your puny, human brain. I am only doing this to relieve myself of the debt."

She rushed up to meet Sesshoumaru's face, and he took a step backward in reflex. "Can you somehow trace Tesseiga?"

He narrowed his eyes, then faced the gloomy sky. The wind ruffled through his long hair as he pondered. Kagome's fingers twitched. Then he faced her, his eyes meeting hers for the first time that day. For some reason, they seemed less cold than the snow beneath their shoes.

"It only calls to human blood. You were the one to extract my father's fang. And it has protected you many times. Only you can hear Tessaiga's cry."

"Dowsing?" Kagome repeated.

Kaede nodded grimly in her hut. The group huddled in a ring around the burning hearth, as though the old miko was telling a campfire horror story. "Yes, it's a divination method to locate water and other materials inside the ground. Tesseiga is a powerful sword that has acknowledged you. I suppose it's possible for you to locate its whereabouts." Then her face turned ashen. "But I'm not sure if you're spiritually inept for this. It can be mentally straining, even for my late sister. Are you sure you can manage?"

"I'll do anything it takes," Kagome whispered.

Kaede nodded, then she craned to the window, where Sesshoumaru was standing outside. "I thought I told you not to play with fire, Kagome. Whatever happened to my advice?"

Kagome blushed. "I'm sorry, Kaede. I've gotten in too deep."

At a warm corner, Rin and Jaken played with Shippo's toys. They didn't have an absolute idea of what was going on. Sesshoumaru had returned yesterday, asking them to pack, and suddenly they were at Old Kaede's house. He was always like that, always leaving them out of the loop.

"So we are joining forces to defeat the alien? Hurrah!" Rin whispered.

"What alien?" Shippo squinted at them.

Kaede continued. Her voice had taken a grave, sombre quality. "For your mind to reach out from its designated bounds… You have to be resolute. Your will must be strong, and your intentions has to be clean, free from impurities. Kagome. First of all, you will need to perform the misogi purification as a form of preparation."

Awhile later, Kagome stood near the rushing waterfall. She pulled up the belt around her hakama, mustering herself. Her lips pouted firmly in determination. "Kikyo has done this many times!" she told herself. "If she can do it, so can I!"

But has Kikyo ever performed a misogi purification in winter? She was standing a good two metres from the small waterfall, but the splash of the water sprinkling at her was more than enough to make Kagome rush home and roll in a blanket. Her teeth was chattering in the cold, and goosebumps were rife on her body. She hugged her body as she carefully stepped forward on the wet rocks, barefoot.

You can do this, Kagome! Think of Inuyasha! Think of Inuyasha and his liver! What you're doing is a small sacrifice for everything's he done for the team!

"Is Kagome-chan going to sit there all night?" Sango enquired worriedly, as she watched her friend from afar meditate under the gushing cold waters for the last hour. "The winter is young, and the snow is tame, but she's going to suffer from a cold nevertheless."

The priest frowned beside her. "The point of everything is to have a strengthened mind, and the mind precedes the body. Kagome-sama will not fall sick if she doesn't allow herself to."

They heard a heavy clank of armour beside them among the trees. "I will stand here in place to guard the miko."

Sango and Miroku gaped at Sesshoumaru in shock. The daiyoukai ignored their rude stares, placing his rapt attention on Kagome.

"I think he's telling us to leave," Sango whispered to her partner.

"Right."

Sesshoumaru wasn't sure how long he stood there. At the moment, time seemed like a trivial matter. For their plans to work, her preparation needed to be in order, and he would ensure she would get the best focus possible.

He clicked his tongue. A small annoyance tickled him. All of this…for that undeserving hanyou? Would he appreciate her efforts? Did he know how she was subjecting her body to extreme conditions, just to prepare herself to find his sword?

He grinded his jaw. "Lass…you are an idiot."

Something slithered on the rocks near where the miko seated. Immediately his line of sight trained on it—a snake. It had detected a warm body and was seeking her heat. The snake would definitely break the concentration spell she had casted on herself.

His mind was devoid of any thoughts when he moved. He only knew to annihilate the incoming threat. Sesshoumaru leapt deftly on the rocks. His hand moved to slice with a youki attack, but he quickly stopped himself. The last thing he wanted to do was to gain attention upon himself. The snake hissed at him and sprang forward. It coiled itself around his right leg. Using his strength, he snapped the offending vermin off of his body, snuffing its life out.

Sesshoumaru quickly turned to spy on Kagome. Her body was still seated upright under the falls in a meditative stance, her face marred in deep concentration.

Good, he thought, taking a step backwards. Then his foot slipped against the wet rocks. It happened too fast. His balance teetered—there was no time to react—and the next thing he knew, he had crashed butt-first into the river, in a big explosive splash.

Sesshoumaru quickly dragged himself up to land. His tongue was bleeding. He had bit himself, trying to stop a curse from forming. Why—why was he always such an utter klutz around her? As if that stupid lemon episode was not enough. He looked up, then his breath stilled. The miko was sitting directly in front of him.

Do not…do not make a sound, he told himself. Do not even move, Sesshoumaru. If she breaks her focus…

He allowed his eyes to stealthily roam up her. He could sense her powerful reiki glowering from her body, buzzing quietly in an undercurrent. Then he remembered the power she had wielded when she shot the arrow towards the Demon Child-Eater's attack. He was stunned then, preferring not to wonder about it afterwards. But it was difficult as of that moment, not when he was stunned again…

His eyes trailed lower. The water had soaked her through, and her white robe become translucent in its wetness, clinging onto her skin. Sesshoumaru swallowed. His head suddenly felt hollow, as if all the blood had left him.

The sunrise crept up slowly from behind. He watched it with stilted eyes for a while. The sun rays reached Kagome, illuminating her face. Soon it enveloped her whole body, as it did to their surroundings, where everything was basked in the morning light.

It was all over. Kagome opened her eyes. She saw Sesshoumaru lying on the rocks before her. He put a finger to his lips. 'Do not say anything.'

She stilled in confused, before her face broke in a laugh. What was Sesshoumaru doing here? Was he being silly again? Slowly she stood up, and the exhaustion from last night suddenly swarmed into her body. Her legs felt like deadweight, and her body wobbled.

Sesshoumaru caught her quickly by the side. He allowed her weak body to lean against him. Her chest struggled as she managed a deep breath. Then she lifted her face, her eyes meeting his.

She was so cold, her small body shivering against his. Sesshoumaru found himself pulling her closer to him. But all the warmth he could provide, could probably never match the ones in her eyes.

To be continued…

[Miroku and Sango at the sides, watching the last end. "Sesshoumaru couldn't help it, could he? He just couldn't." Please review! It would really make my day! ^^]


	11. Operation Justice Warriors (Part I)

**Operation Justice Warriors (Part I)**

"So let me get this straight," Rin said, squatting over the snow beside Jaken. The ensemble had gathered outside Kaede's hut, preparing themselves for the next step in their rescue mission, code-named Operation Justice Warriors. Shippo had argued earlier on that it wasn't really Justice Warriors without Inuyasha, but Miroku smoothly countered that Inuyasha wouldn't really want to be labeled with such a righteous tag--with him they would be called, "Inuyasha _and_ the Justice Warriors."

"Sounds apt to me," Shippo had said, before resuming on to flex his karate chops. " _Haiiii-yaa!_ Hoo-boy, do I feel useful or what!"

Sango was bended over in her demon-hunter gear, polishing her Hiraikotsu. Thank God it had crashed at a nearby lake when Okuni whisked it away. Kirara had used her good nose, and discovered it stuck among the rocky banks of the lake. It was not so easy with Tesseiga however; it was as though the sword had mysteriously disappeared from the face of Earth.

A trickle of snow fell down the back of her neck and she instantly squirmed like a dancing worm. It was Miroku, acting on a playful whim, and she removed the debauched smile off the priest's face with a jab of her elbow.

Rin grabbed the Demon-Hand Staff from Jaken's webbed grip and drew large circles on the snow with its end. "So let me get this straight. The aliens have Inuyasha in their motherbase. But his magic sword is flung out somewhere in the far galaxy. Only Kagome the time-traveller can trace them with her psycho-telepathic powers. We'll then infiltrate the mothership with some sort of decoy we'll think of later. Lord Sesshoumaru will then help to kick butt with everyone else."

"And how do we fit in all of this?" Jaken shivered miserably. He hated winter, hated the snow and with everything it brought. The cold never agreed with his thin amphibious skin, crusting with frost. This was a period meant for hibernation, not for striving for some half-blooded mongrel who never did anything good for them.

A snowflake gently patted on Rin's button nose. She watched as it melted into a drop. The girl rose on her haunches and squinted determinedly.

"We can help to brew tea...when it gets really cold."

"Sounds like a good idea," Kagome said weakly with a smile, as she lumbered out from Kaede's house. Her voice was hoarse, without her usual spiritedness.

"Kagome-chan! You're up!" Shippo bounded on his feet, rushing towards her as everyone's heads perked up.

"My head still feels heavy, like it's encased in concrete." She rubbed on her temples, a pained frown on her face.

"Don't exert yourself, Kagome-sama," Miroku chided gently. "You're still suffering from mental fatigue. If you wish to know, you were actually asleep for two days straight after the _misogi_ purification. "

"What? That long?" Kagome was surprisedÃ¢--that was the longest she'd slept in her life. _Gee, I must be even shagged than I thought._ "Anyway why is your mouth bleeding, Miroku?"

"Stand aside," came a cold, assertive voice. Her concerned friends shifted to make room for the tall figure who had suddenly appeared behind them. It was Sesshoumaru, and he blended so well with the white, wintry landscape that almost no one noticed he had actually been sitting under a tree nearby, listening to Rin's amusing take on their plans.

"And where did _he_ come from?" Sango said, tensing as the _daiyoukai's_ large pelt brushed hard against her as he moved forward, frost spattering on her clothes. Again she did that squirm and there was a flash of a perverted smile, and Kagome abruptly learned the secret behind the priest's injury.

" _Miko_ ," Sesshoumaru said, his solemn, mirthless voice cutting the good cheer in everyone's hearts. "If you are well enough to be engaging in idle chatter, I assume you as ready to embark on Tesseiga's search."

"Come on, Kagome-chan just woke up. Give her a break, will you?" Shippo defended angrily. Sesshoumaru merely narrowed his eyes in response, but the _kitsune_ was already squeaking as he hid behind Kagome.

"It's okay, guys," Kagome said, trying to muster a smile. "I don't want to impede on this anymore than Sesshoumaru does. The more we delay, the more Inuyasha's life is in danger."

"But we are worried about you too, Kagome-chan," Sango insisted, holding on to her arm. "What happens to Inuyasha is beyond our control. You're here with us now. We can't let anything happen to you."

Sesshoumaru gave a sardonic smirk as he removed himself from the group. The outpour of concern for the _miko_ was highly unnecessary. She was stronger than that. This was, after all, the same woman to whom he owed a life-debt, incurred twice in a row. Nothing was as bitter as the fact that he _owed_ a human _something_.

"Herein I will have the highest authority in this group, therefore I will be the one to have a final say. If you so desperately seek this Sesshoumaru's assistance, then so be prepared to bear my orders." He glared at Shippo who was sticking out his tongue, and the fox kit quickly yelped behind Kagome again. "Does anyone have any other _concerns_?"

"Yeah," Rin suddenly piped up, raising her hand. "Is nobody here going to ask what in the world is "concrete?""

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere far, far away, hidden east towards the bleakness of the icy caves and of bottomless gorges, was a secret lodge sidled among the jagged rocks. Its interiors were lit and warmed with a large, cackling fire-hearth at a corner, its floors lined with the furry pelts of beasts.

Inuyasha laid in a wooden bath-tub, displaying a tongue-curling yawn. The candles flickering in the bathroom lent more shadows than light, making him woozy. That, plus the camphor. It made him high and sleepy, he swore.

The marination process had begun. It involved the initial phase of ensuring the liver in a healthy and sufficiently nourished state. Not just the liver, but the whole vessel that housed the organ as well. Inuyasha was simmering in warm herb-water that made the bathroom smell like an apothecary-- _he_ smelled like an apothecary, for god's sake.

Okuni was kneeling beside the tub, as she worked to massage his arms. She leaned forward her petite face to coo in his ear. "Does it feel good when I massage you like this, Inuyasha? This is a special concoction I brewed for just for you. It diffuses into your skin, and will detoxify all impurities from your system." Her long fingernails scratched against his bare chest ticklishly, and Inuyasha bit his lip to stop the giggle bursting from within.

"You have good hands, Okuni," Inuyasha remarked, putting on a boyish grin. "Maybe...slightly lower?"

"Here?" Okuni enquired, elbows-deep in the water.

"Even lower, lower...yes! My knee! That's where I'm talking about. Just keep that pace, woman. You're a master in this craft!"

Okuni blushed and gave a gravelly chortle. "Oh Inuyasha, you just make me want to _mother_ you." She rose slightly and her large bosom nearly smothered him in the face. Inuyasha squealed--he couldn't move, not when his hands and legs were shackled in the water. At that moment Seiran entered with a sack of garlic and other herbs, only to see the mistress' chest in the hanyou's face.

Seiran smacked the sack of herbs on Inuyasha's head while quickly apologizing. "Oops! Didn't mean to hit you!"

"Seiran, be careful next time," Okuni glared. "We don't want to damage our merchandise any further. You already battered him enough as it is."

 _Anytime now_ , Inuyasha grinned back, the taste of blood in his mouth. _I'm just waiting for the right moment to strike._

Everyone watched with bated breaths as the compass needle spun freely on its axis, clockwise-wise, then counter-clockwise. Aided by Kagome's warm, swirling reiki, it would hence act as the designated instrument for her dowsing, and point towards the direction of Tesseiga's whereabouts. It was ironic, how she had never used her compass throughout her journeys with Inuyasha--after all she travelled with supernatural creatures who didn't need such contraptions to know from where the sun rose, or if they were heading the right way to the Bone-eater's Well. Today, her once unnecessary compass would finally prove itself to good use.

At last Jaken couldn't take it any longer and threw up a fit, walking off. "The thing is broken, I tell you! The blind leading the blind! Ha! What a joke!"

Behind him, Sesshoumaru glared with glowering eyes. "I'll show you who's blind."

Awhile later Jaken returned to his former position beside Rin and Ah-Un, his eyes so swollen he almost could see nothing.

"Ah!" Kagome's eyes flew open, awakened from her meditative trance. Sango placed a kind hand on her shoulder as Kagome wiped the light sheen of perspiration on her forehead. The needle had rested towards the northeast.

"I saw...an image of a vast field of grass in my mind," Kagome said.

Sesshoumaru looked up towards the direction. Up ahead were winding forest trails, with a network of rivers cutting through. They led towards the white, oppressive mountains looming up close.

"Mount Midoriyama," he said. "While the kanji for _midori_ can interpret the colour green, its definition also encompasses the embodiment of nature by itself."

"You just had to use to use the word "encompass" didn't you?" Sesshoumaru lifted a nifty eyebrow at her and Kagome coughed softly. "Now that you mentioned it, the field was very green."

"Mount Midoriyama, is it?" Miroku said gravely with a frown. The freezing, snow-capped mountains were anything but green, rather they forebode a quiet sense of calamity. "Even from here, I can see a blizzard brewing at its peaks. It's going to be extremely dangerous."

Sesshoumaru turned. "Rin, Jaken. The two of you will stay put in the old _miko's_ house."

"What?! But we've been appointed the official tea-makers in the group!" Rin protested.

"No one appointed us, Rin," Jaken sighed.

"So what's the plan now?" Shippo asked, perched on the priest's shoulder.

"Let's go," Sesshoumaru announced briskly. He dashed off towards the dark woods before anyone could say another word.

"What! Hey, wait for me!" Kagome shouted in surprise as she ran after him, just barely catching the end of his pelt as he descended up into the air.

Sesshoumaru stared over his shoulder at the young woman dangling off him, screaming as he shot up for the skies. With a click of his tongue, he whipped his pelt, the motion causing her to hurl up, and she caught onto his shoulder just in time.

"Nice save," Kagome said in English, with a broken grin. She flashed him a thumbs-up sign. Sesshoumaru snorted.

They did not say anything more, but it seemed to be an unspoken mutual agreement between them--that they would be partners in this quest. She would guide him towards Tesseiga and retrieve it; and he would protect her life in any way that he could, for as long as she needed him. All to get that debt of his back, of course.

Some distance away in the air, Sango, Miroku and Shippo were mounted on Kirara, racing towards Mount Midoriyama as well. "I _told_ you they were together!" she said to the paling priest, who was watching the unlikely couple up ahead.

"Giddy-up, giddy-up!" came Rin's shrill voice, as Ah-Un flew to catch up beside them.

"Hey!" Shippo went. "Aren't you guys supposed to..."

"Sesshoumaru-sama is going to be mad if he knows," Jaken grumbled behind her.

"Nah, I think he has more important things to think about," Rin countered with confidence. "Besides, we're the official--"

"Shut up, Rin."

* * *

"Sesshoumaru, up ahead!" Kagome pointed somewhere along the slopes of the mountain.

It was so cold that her watch had stopped working, and Kagome had long forgotten exactly how many hours had passed to reach Mount Midoriyama. What she was certain however, was that it was one of her worse journeys yet, because of the incredible, awkward silence suffocating them. She was clutched tightly against the _daiyoukai_ , his body encased in hard armour. She sighed, daring to peer up his face, impassive as usual even though they were storming through freezing clouds of ice that made her wince. It didn't matter what he was doing. Sesshoumaru was always so _serious_.

She smiled a little as she tried to remembered his silly antics throughout the whole frustrating game they were stuck in, who was going to save who and whatnot. How it was always, funnily enough, ended up with her helping him and not the other way round as he so much intended.

 _His pride must be so bruised_ , Kagome thought empathetically. _So bruised that he's willing to put it aside to help us. Oh Sesshoumaru. You must really want to kill me, given the choice. But why haven't you, I wonder? Is it true that somewhere in your heart you hold compassion even for little, old me?_

Suddenly Sesshoumaru jerked his shoulder, and Kagome stiffened. "Cease your staring, lass. A good _miko_ should learn to lower her eyes, especially in the presence of an honourable lord."

_Take back my words, he's really nothing but a pompous ass._

And then she felt a spark in her senses, as something within the deep enclaves of Mount Midoriyama called to her. Kagome cried out as she pointed it to him. Sesshoumaru picked up his speed, centering towards the area, skimming past the powder-white slopes. There was a thundering explosion of sound as the mountain seemed to shake, as they managed to evade a huge splatter of snow.

"There's an avalanche coming down!" she shouted when she looked back.

Kagome watched in horror as the enormous cascade of snow rumbled down ominously close to Kirara and the others, _too_ close in fact, and suddenly it swallowed them and they disappeared. The avalanche hissed to a stop, the trees all trampled and submerged in its wake.

Kagome screamed, a hand reaching towards the empty air. _My friends! My friends are all buried--they're going to die!_

Kagome wasn't thinking as she pulled herself off Sesshoumaru, resulting in an almost fatal drop into the thick blanket of snow. It was too cold to feel anything. Her teeth were chattering wildly against the whipping wind, and the snow reached to her chest, but still she struggled to move forward, towards where her friends had fallen.

_I can do this, just a step forward..._

" _Miko!_ " she heard him shout in the distance. "It is far too dangerous to go any further!"

She ignored him, gritting her teeth. She couldn't feel her legs anymore nor the tears running down her cheeks. If Sango and the rest were to die, could she live with it?

Suddenly there was a roar up above. Kagome stood, petrified as another wave of avalanche came crashing down, rolling towards her. She felt the first bits of ice splattering on her face, the gust of wind robbing her of her voice. It was her turn now, wasn't it? She wondered if Inuyasha would be mad at her for dying like this...

The snowstorm embraced her like a white angel of death. Kagome closed her eyes and felt as her body flung back. In the split-second she waited for the oppressive weight to suffocate her and shatter her ribs. But it never quite came.

The roaring died, the air deathly quiet for some reason. She was deep in the snow, and yet strangely she was not covered in it. She wasn't dead either, because she could feel her heartbeat thundering wildly in her chest. Kagome creaked open her eyes.

Sesshoumaru was braced above her body, the spoils of the avalanche crushing against his back. His usually deadpan face was marred with a heavy frown, dishevelled, his hair spilling towards her. A resounding crack came from his armour plate, and he gritted his fangs.

Kagome gasped, and clasped her hands against his chest. "Sesshoumaru! Please don't push yourself--you don't have to do this!"

"You fool," he quietly seethed. "This Sesshoumaru will not be defeated by a mere heap of snow."

"But--" Kagome stiffened as he seemed to lose strength in his arms, his body lowering towards her. Sesshoumaru bit back a curse. The weight was too heavy for him to bear--he was faltering before her eyes. Another slip of his strength. He was so close to her now, her quivering lips a hair's breadth from his. She could feel his icy breath against her skin.

She squeezed his shoulders, feeling helpless. "Sesshoumaru..." she whispered. Suddenly his eyes flew open and she felt a horrible chill down her spine. Instead of the sharp, golden glare she was used to, his eyes had now turned red and feral, belonging to an untamed demon.

_Oh...crap. His body's kicked into survival beast mode._

"Distract me!" Sesshoumaru snarled, beckoning from the utmost thin shred of self-control he was left with.

"H-how?!" Kagome blabbered, suddenly thrusted with the power to appease his beast.

"Say something--anything!"

Kagome panicked. What? What was she supposed to say? It was never like this when Inuyasha transformed! What if she blabbered the wrong thing? Would she end up as minced meat?

"Hurry!"

"Long flowering branches of beautifully coloured wisteria entwined about a pine tree!" she finally blurted, tears springing.

She saw as his delicate eyebrows knitted themselves. Her words had gone through his head somehow. Although his eyes remained frighteningly dangerous upon her face. She turned away slightly.

"Chinese...brocade?" he ventured slowly, his breath on her neck.

Kagome gasped. _Oh god, he knows! He knows what I'm talking about! I can deter his transformation like this!_

"A sword with a decorated scabbard!" Kagome exclaimed with renewed vigour.

"The grain of the wood...in a Buddhist statue."

Sesshoumaru shut his eyes, gathering all his wills to regain his composure. He shivered as he did so, and Kagome felt a pang of guilt. Why would he go through such lengths just to dissolve a stupid debt? Wasn't his life worth more than everything?

When he blinked, and his eyes were of sharp gold once more.

"Lass," he said, his voice hoarse and weary, but somehow there was a crooked smile on his lips. "I am going to break through the ice. So hold on to me."

"I have been clutching onto your shoulders in terror, in case you haven't noticed."

"Good."

She allowed herself to hug him tighter for a secured grip, then ducked her head as he summoned all of his strength to crash out from the snow with lightning speed. They hovered into the air for a while as he scouted for somewhere to settle. At last his eyes caught sight of a hidden shack among the trees, untouched by the avalanche.

 _"_ I have discovered somewhere we can stay, whilst waiting for the storm to die down," he said, bringing them towards the shack. "I know you are worried about your friends, but they will survive."

However Kagome wasn't listening. A stray, ridiculous thought had teased her, and now she couldn't stop thinking about it.

_The way he exploded through that ice. For a moment it was like...he was Superman and I was Lois Lane. Too cool..._

**_To be continued!_ **

**A/N: Took me awhile to produce the chapter cos I had written it halfway and didn't save it somehow. Ughhhh! Okay, finally the romance is starting to start! Sesshoumaru and Kagome in a shack. Hmmmm... *starts to rub hands together***

 


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